Frontier 02: The Legend of the Irish Warriors
by DD Leader Dark Heart of Water
Summary: What would you do if you were called to another world? Would you give it a shot? Or think of it as a phone glitch? Join Darren, the leader, Lydia, the lone wolf, John, the child, Chloe, the feminist, Aaron, the flirt (Sorry digiwonder. Had to put it in), and the Royals, Arlene, the optimist, and Harry, the musician, as they fight to save the digital world! Full summary inside.T jic
1. Summary

**Disclaimer: I don't own digimon or Darren**

* * *

**Summary:**

This is the game that will determine your future...

What would you do if you were called to a parallel world in desperate need of your help? Or would you write it off as a simple phone glitch? Join Darren Hughes, the leader, Lydia O'Dwyer, the lone wolf, John Collins, the child, Chloe Sheehan, the feminist, Aaron Kennedy, the flirt (Sorry, digiwonder. Had to put it in there.), Arlene McCarthy, the optimist, the Princess, and Harry O'Connor, the musician, the Prince, seven children who were called, as they fight to save the digital world alongside the spirits of the twelve legendary warriors! The Prince and Princess have a lot of problems to work out, as well as discover who the warriors of Life and Death are, how they can exist when there are only twelve legendary warriors, and why they are the only two with traits rather than elements.

* * *

**Couplings:**

OCxOC

Takouji (Fem Koji)

Takouichi (Fem Koichi)

JPxOC

* * *

This story is dedicated to my three best friends; digiwonder, LacrymosaRules and TheDarkSpartan.


	2. Chapter 1: Ring of Fire

**I don't own digimon**

**Thanks to the creator of Padraic, Lydia, John, Chloe, Digidestined Rival of Earth, LacrymosaRules, Jade and TheDarkSpartan for letting me use their names/OCs in my story.**

**Thanks to 'Cardfighter by Heart' for reviewing.**

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**The Legend of the Irish Warriors  
Chapter One  
Ring of Fire**

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

I sighed as I grabbed the TV remote and began flicking through the channels, groaning in exasperation as I realized there was nothing good on, "Ugh! I'm so **bored**!" I picked up my new Nokia Lumia, meaning to text one of my friends, when a new message came in. Shrugging, I opened it, "No sender. Weird."

Do you want to play?

Underneath the question, there were two options, _yes _and _no_. I shrugged again, hitting the _yes_ button, assuming that it was a game my younger sister, Carrie, had downloaded.

Darren Hughes. This is the game that will decide your destiny. Do you want to play?

I looked around for a moment before realising that it was my phone talking, and grabbed it, "What the-. What do you mean, 'my destiny'?" I was just a normal kid on holiday in Cork. Why was this happening to me? My adventure loving friends would adore this, but me? No.

Take the 1.15 train to Killarney Station.

I looked at the clock. It was now one o'clock and the station was a ten minute run away. I grinned to myself, "I can just make it." Even if this was just a huge joke, which I presumed it was, it would be a chance to see my friends again. Yelling to my mom that I was going to visit one of my friends (well it wasn't exactly a lie), I grabbed my favourite blue-grey hoodie and ran outside. As I ran down the street, I passed a father playing soccer with his son. His phone rang and he answered it, looking at it weirdly as the ball rolled past him. "I'll get it!" I called, stopping the ball. As I kicked it back to them, a truck came around the corner. I froze as it skidded towards me, "**This** is my destiny?" I lunged out of the way as the truck stopped where I had been mere seconds before. The driver opened the door as I shakily pushed myself into a sitting position, "Hey, kid. You okay?" I nodded and gasped, "Hey, do you know what time it is?" He glanced down at his watch, surprised, "Uh, a couple before 1.15." I stood up and continued running down the street, "Oh, man!" I arrived at the station at 1.14 and ran to the ticket dispenser. Rummaging through my pockets, I realised that I was completely broke, "Ugh! I knew I should have asked mom for more pocket money!" I exclaimed, banging my head against the large machine. As soon as I came into contact with it, a red ticket popped out of the slot. Grabbing it, I ran onto the train just as the door closed and I collapsed on the ground, panting, "I can't believe I made it." About ten minutes from the destination, my phone rang in my- wait, no. My phone was on silent. A girl in front of me took her white BlackBerry phone out of her pocket as mine vibrated in my pocket. Taking it out, I looked at the girl. She had short, chin-legnth hair with loose strands that hung her pale face and cold, grey eyes. She was wearing a dark grey hoodie - open - over a white, short sleeved, polo-neck shirt, grey skinny jeans, dark blue high tops and a silver watch with a blue and crimson band. She slightly scowled at me as she saw me looking at her and put her phone back into her pocket as, blushing, I reverted my gaze to my phone.

Transfer to the 2.10 underground train.

I groaned. I didn't even know that Killarney **had** an underground station. I glanced at someone's watch. It was already 2.00. I clasped my head in my hands, "Come on! Give me a break! I'm doing the best I can!" Everyone on the train looked at me oddly and I leaned casually against the door. As the train stopped, it was 2.06. I ran out of the door and stopped. Where was the elevator? I looked around and saw the girl with the blonde hair walk towards the door. _Maybe she knows._ I followed her into a conference looking room, in which there was an elevator. I ran towards it and lunged in as the doors closed inches behind me. I crashed headlong into the wall. Rubbing my head, I looked up at the girl who glared at me, "Are you here because of the phone thing two?" She glared at me and turned away as I looked up at the dial. I yelled in surprise as she gripped the hand rail tightly. What elevator went below basement level? The elevator came to a sudden stop and I rubbed my sore head where I banged it against the wall for the second time, "I've got to stop landing on my head." I stood up and we looked out. There was a huge station filled with kids our age socialising. I glanced down at my phone.

Now it is up to you. Which train will you choose? The trains will leave on time.

The girl growled and ran off. I watched her, "Wait! Which one are you choosing?" She ignored me and ran off. I sighed, "Geez. My phone talks more than that girl." A whistle blew and the train doors began closing. Gasping, I sprinted for the nearest train, "My destiny sure involves a lot of running!" Hesitating for a moment, I grabbed onto the handrail at the back and jumped onto the small platform, panting. I looked up as a silver train caught up with mine. The girl from before was standing calmly on the platform, frowning. I glared at her as a wall separated the trains. I stood up straight and opened the door, "Way to think ahead, Darren. Well, wherever I'm going, I'm going to get there in a hurry.

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**Lydia's POV;**

I cringed as the pet shop's bell rang, going through my head. _I can't believe I'm doing this._ I walked up to the counter as the clerk smiled at me, "Can I help you?" I nodded and blushed lightly under her gaze, "Can I get a…." I looked around the shop for a moment, "Cat. A grey shorthair?" She nodded and smiled again, moving towards the fury animal I had pointed out, "Is it for your dad?" I nodded, looking out the window. "Is it for his birthday? Anniversary?"  
"Anniversary." I said, barely eligibly as I almost whispered it. She grinned as she looked at me as if trying to guess my age, "Is it his fifteenth? Twentieth?" I looked down at my blue high tops and narrowed my eyes slightly, "It's his third." She looked up, both shocked and surprised, "How can it only be his **third**? You must be at least eleven." I glared at the ground. I hated it when people thought I was younger than I really was. My cruddy BlackBerry phone rang and I took it out, unlocking it as I saw a message.

Do you want to play?  
Yes  
No

I hesitated before pressing the _yes_ button. My phone background changed to an orange-and-black Chinese Zodiac like symbol.

Lydia O'Dwyer. This is the game that will decide your destiny. Do you want to play?

My eyes widened in surprise as I brought my phone closer, "What are you talking about?"

Take the 1.15pm train to Killarney station.

I looked up as the girl placed the cat in the carrier, "Here you go. That'll be thirty euro, please." I turned around and opened the door, "I'll pick him up later." I pounded down the street, barely stopping to let a large truck drive past with the driver answering his mobile. It was now 1.10 and the train station was just ahead of me. I rummaged through my pockets and discovered that unless I spent the money mom had given to me for my step-father's anniversary, then I wouldn't have enough to pay for my ticket. I angrily slammed my fist into the machine and a red ticket popped out. I glared at it suspiciously, "This is a little too convenient." I growled as the train came into the station. Either I took the ticket now or I missed my chance. Grabbing the ticket, I casually climbed onto the train, careful not to draw attention to myself, and stood looking out of the window. As the doors closed, a brunette dashed in, collapsing onto the ground as the doors closed. I sighed and continued looking out the window. If a seat didn't free up soon, this would be a long ride, as I wasn't lowering my standards to sitting on the floor like the brunette. About ten minutes from Killarney, my phone rang and I saw the boy go for his pocket, stop, and look at me as I took mine out. I then heard a slight buzz and he took his out, glancing at me again. I looked at him and he looked at his phone, embarrassed. His brown hair was smooth and a few strands fell over the left side of his face, almost hiding his green eyes. His blue-grey hoodie looked like he had just thrown it on and underneath it; he seemed to be wearing a white t-shirt. His dark blue jeans cascaded over the side of his white, blue and red trainers. I sighed and turned back to my phone.

Take the 2.10 underground train from Killarney station.

I sighed again, "This is getting old." Putting it back in my pocket, the train pulled to a stop. I walked out, passing the brown-haired kid on my way to the waiting room where the only elevator I knew was. As I pressed the close button, the door swung open and the brown haired kid lunged into the elevator just as the doors closed behind him. I glanced at him to make sure he was okay, because I just didn't want to get blamed for anything when we climbed out. He rubbed his head which he had banged against the wall and looked up at me and held up his phone, "Are you here because of the phone thing two?" I glared at him and turned my back on him. If he had any brains, he would leave me alone. I looked up at the small dial, my eyes widened and I gripped the handrail tightly, causing my knuckles to turn white. We had gone below basement level! The boy yelled in fright as the elevator came to a sudden stop and he banged his head again, "I've really got to stop landing on my head." I looked out of the doors as they opened. All around us, people were socialising and climbing aboard trains with their friends. I took out my phone.

Now it is up to you. Which train will you choose? The trains will leave on time.

I ran out as the kid yelled after me, "Wait! What train are you choosing?" I then heard him say to himself a bit more quietly, "Geez. My phone talks more than that girl." I shook his last comment out of my head as I heard a whistle blow and the train doors began closing. Choosing a silver train, I jumped onto the small ridge at the back, looking up as I caught up to the kid. He glared at me as I looked on coldly, no emotion on my face. A wall then separated us and I opened the door of the train compartment, "Hopefully, that's the last I'll see of him."

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**Arlene's POV;**

I sighed as I closed my locker and locked it. It was barely big enough to hold my books and it was in the worst possible place. Right outside the boy's bathroom. I pushed my glasses slightly up my nose and walked down the street. Today had been an ordinary school day. Double science, English, maths, French, double music, Irish and geography, but for some reason, I couldn't even pass the time quickly by staring at my crush (who I'd rather not mention as it would be embarrassing for my friend) in every class. I quietly pushed open the door to the bookshop and headed for the back. I was taking one of the 'Secret Seven' books from the shelf when my phone rang, making the clerk glare at me. Mouthing an apology, I silenced my phone and glanced at the message.

Do you want to play?  
Yes  
or  
No

_That's odd. There's no sender_. I shrugged and hit yes. Immediately a quiet voice emerged from it.

Arlene McCarthy. This is the game that will decide your destiny. Do you want to play?

I gasped in surprise and ran outside before the sales clerk could glare at me again, "What are you talking about?" My phone ignored me and continued with instructions.

Take the 2.10 underground train from Killarney station.

I glanced at my watch. It was now two o'clock and I was less than two blocks away from the station. I walked without stopping, except to buy a small bag to put my things in from Pennys. When I reached the station, it was 2.05 and I walked over to a ticket dispenser. Looking in my purse, I discovered that other than fifty cents, I had spent all of my money on the bag. I groaned and leaned against the machine. I heard a sliding noise and a red ticket popped out. I took it and calmly walked to the waiting room's elevator. As I pressed down, a girl with black hair ran up to me and she leaned over, panting to catch her breath. Remembering my water, I took it out of my bag and handed it to her. She looked at it, then me and smiled, "Thanks. I'm Chloe." I nodded in response as she took a large swig and handed it back to me, "Arlene." She stood up as the elevator doors opened and we walked in and I finally got a good look at her. Her black hair, which she wore lose, cascaded down to her shoulder blades and curled inwards at the ends. Her fringe partly blocked out her green eyes and her pink _Nike_ sweater was a tiny bit crooked, showing her pink belt which held up her slightly to-big tracksuit pants. Her pink _Nike_ runners were well worn out, but nonetheless looked good. We looked up at the dial and shrieked, grabbing onto one another in terror. The elevator had gone several floors beyond basement level and was speeding up. Finally, we came to a sudden, jittery halt and the doors opened to reveal us lying sprawled on the ground where we had fallen. I picked up my phone which had rung again.

Now it is up to you. Which train will you chose? The trains will leave on time.

I waved in farewell to Chloe as I ran towards a silver one, climbing on just as the door closed behind me and a whistle blew. The train began moving, slowly at first, and then sped up. I was the only one aboard, or so I thought, until the door to the small ridge-like balcony at the back of the train opened and a girl my age with blonde hair walked in.

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**Chloe's POV;**

I stretched as I walked up to my team. School was over in a few days and now I had a chance to run. I had joined the athletics team a few years ago on a dare and had discovered that I liked it, and so decided to stay. Now, my team mates and I had just finished up for the day and were chatting randomly, complimenting each other on our running. I picked up my bag and began walking towards the school, watching sadly as my team mates all turned towards home, ignoring me as usual. I still had one test to study for before I was free, and I was going to get it right. I was about to walk up the stairs to the vast library when my phone vibrated. Looking around, I picked it up as a message from an unknown sender came in.

Do you want to play?  
Yes  
or  
No

I rolled my eyes, but instead of deleting it like I usually would, I took a chance and pressed yes. I wasn't sure why, but it felt like I was being called.

Chloe Sheehan. This is the game that will decide your destiny. Do you want to play?

As if answering its question, I nodded. I loved to have adventures, from going for a run somewhere I had never been before to plain old reading, "I do, but what do you mean?"

Take the 2.10 underground from Killarney station.

I glanced at the clock just above the library door. It was now 2.04, but if I made a shortcut through the Outlet Centre, I should be able to make it. If I sprinted. I dropped my bag and dashed out of the door, surprising one or two students who were just returning from choir. I saw one of them, a boy, looking at his phone, perplexed. I sprinted down the street, jumping the wall of the centre and sprinting inside, not even stopping to wave at my mother in the Nike shop. I ran faster than I ever had in my life as I came up to the Malton. 2.08. I crashed into the ticket dispenser, unable to stop in time and a red ticket popped out. Good thing too, because I didn't have any money. I ran towards the conference-like room where I assumed the elevator was, because aside from the bathrooms, there was nowhere the elevator could have been. I skidded to a stop as a girl with brown-blonde hair pressed the down button. I leaned over, gasping for breath as she rummaged through her bag and withdrew a water bottle and handed it to me. After smiling in thanks and taking a large drink, I grinned, "Thanks. I'm Chloe." She nodded in response, shoving the bottle back into her bag, "Arlene." Her black trench coat almost hid her pale purple shirt and her purple jeans reached her ankles. Her black school-shoes were covered in dust. We walked into the elevator and the doors closed behind us. I looked casually up at the dial and then ruined my moment of looking cool by shrieking in terror and grabbing her. We were way below basement level and still descending! We shrieked and clung to one another as the elevator came to a sudden, jittery stop and we fell to the floor. Standing up as the doors opened, we looked around to see loads of kids our age socialising and climbing aboard trains. I looked at my phone.

Now it is up to you. Which train will you chose? The trains will leave on time.

Arlene waved in farewell to me and ran towards a silver train. I walked more slowly towards a large, orange one. Looking around and only seeing two people I didn't even know the names of, I turned around to walk towards the train Arlene had gotten on when a whistle blew and the door slammed shut in my face. I sighed and sat down across from the older boy as we started moving. If someone didn't say something, it was going to be a long ride, no matter how far away the actual distance was. I looked up as the door to the carriage beyond opened and a boy with brown hair ran in.

* * *

**John's POV;**

I ran towards the playground as the bullies behind me struggled to catch up. I may be just a kid that everyone picked on, but I could run fast. I looked behind and discovered that I had put quite a distance between myself and them. Every day was the same story. I get out of school, do something stupid like trip, they laugh, I yell at them, they get miffed and start chasing me. Only once did they actually catch me, but then my older brother, Kieran had stepped in and forced them to leave me alone. But now, Kieran was in Dublin for the week, on a school tour and the bullies knew it. Hearing my phone go off, I ducked into a bush and clicked on the new message.

Do you want to play?  
Yes  
or  
No

I clicked yes, thinking that it might be my best friend, Larry, who had been bragging that he was getting a new phone for his birthday.

John Collins. This is the game that will decide your destiny. Do you want to play?

I bit my lip and peeked out of the bush. The bullies were still out of sight. Anything would be better than facing them.

Take the 2.10 underground from Killarney station.

Glancing around again, I darted out of the bush, across the street and into the station. It was only two now, but it was a chance to escape my bullies. I ran to the ticket machine and was about to pay when a red ticket popped out. Shrugging, I took it. It would mean more money for a snack on the train. I walked into the waiting room and pressed the down button. I looked down at my white hoodie, dark blue jeans and white trainers as I blew a strand of my brown hair out of my hazel-coloured eyes. I pulled the hood over my head and climbed shakily into the elevator and pressed the down button. I pushed my glasses, which had fallen down my nose, back to their original position and screamed in terror when the dial told me how far down I was. The elevator came into contact with the ground with a large **thud** and I looked out. Around me, there were loads of kids older and younger than me, but there were still several kids my age chatting together. Quickly I took out my phone as I heard it ring again.

Now it is up to you. Which train will you chose? The trains will leave on time.

I shrugged. It was still only 2.05. I had a few minutes. I was running over to them when someone grabbed me by the hood of my hoodie, causing me to choke slightly. "Hey, look Ian. We've got ourselves a four-eyes here!" A voice sniggered. I felt one of the two boys shove me and I fell to the ground, tears beginning to form in my eyes. It was now 2.09. "Please leave me alone. I want to get on a train." I said quietly, looking hopefully at the pink train all of the kids my age were climbing onto. Ian grinned as I stood up, "Jamie, I think he really wants to get on a train." Jamie nodded, "Well, let's help him out." He grabbed me by the hem of my jacket and shoved me onto the orange train we were beside. I stumbled and fell backwards as the two laughed. I was about to run outside onto another train when a whistle blew and either they or someone else shut the door in my face. I slowly walked over and sat down on a separate seat and put my head down, trying not to cry as a door opened and a brown haired boy walked in.

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I sighed as choir ended for the day and we walked out of the instrument filled room. Everyone was chatting, but I didn't have any real friends. That's why I joined choir. Because I thought it might be a chance to make some. But it was just the same as school. Everyone had their own group of friends and didn't want anyone else in them. I looked down at my chocolate filled white jacket. It was strange. No matter how much chocolate I ate, I never gained any weight. But I'm not complaining! I love chocolate. My dark blue jeans were slightly too small and were cutting into my waist and my black school shoes were pinching. I was glad I had brought a change of clothes in my bag. I grinned at the thought of changing into my favourite red hoodie, denim jeans and red trainers. I sighed again as I brushed a strand of my curly black hair out of my face which had been blocking my green eyes. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took it out. I hated my new phone, but I had been hinting to my mom that I just wanted a normal BlackBerry for my birthday. I opened the message and stared at it in astonishment.

Do you want to play?   
Yes  
or  
No

Not having anything planned for when I got home except studying for the summer tests, I hit yes as a girl with dark hair sprinted past the surprised singers.

Aaron Kennedy. This is the game that will decide your destiny. Do you want to play?

I nodded, although rather confused at why my phone would ask me that, and in such a strange voice, after I had already hit yes.

Take the 2.10 underground from Killarney station.

I glanced at my watch. It was five past, so I would have to change later if I was to make the train. I pounded down the street, P.E. bag in hand and red in the face as I struggled not to miss the train. Thinking of it now, I probably looked ridiculous and would have laughed with those bystanders, but then it seemed just plain mean to me. I glared at them as I passed them by and ran headlong into the ticket dispenser, putting out my hands so that I didn't bang my head. A red ticket popped out and, shrugging, I grabbed it and ran towards the elevator. I didn't have time to think about the coincidentity (word I created. It means how coincidental something is) or the colour of the ticket, but if I didn't take it, I wouldn't make the train. I took out a small bar of chocolate as I stepped into the elevator and took a bite of it, not even bothering to look up at the dial, which was probably a good thing, as I definitely would have lost the just-devoured chocolate. I cringed slightly as the elevator hit ground level, causing a ringing sound to go through my head. I stepped out into the station and looked around. Everyone, bar one or two, were socialising and climbing aboard trains. Sighing, I walked towards the nearest one, a large, orange train. Stepping on board, I recognised the girl that I had seen sprinting out of the school that my choir was held in while our old music room was being re-decorated. I sat down across from her as a couple of boys pushed a little kid onto our train and shut the door. I was about to go and tell them off or something like it when a whistle blew and the door slammed in my face. I sighed and sat back down as the door to the carriage beyond opened and a brown haired boy walked in.

* * *

**Aoife's POV;**

I glanced through the window into the carriage beyond. I could see Lydia standing and looking out the window as she had been for the whole trip, except when she occasionally glanced at her phone. I ducked my head, the blue-and-white bandana I wore shielding my grey eyes as my blonde ponytail bounced on my shoulder. _Today's the day I tell her._ As the train slowed to a stop, I tried to push out to the front, but a hoard of people climbed out before me and now, all I could see was her walking into the waiting room. I dashed after her, just behind a brown haired boy, who leapt head first into the elevator's closing doors, just making it whereas I was stuck outside. Glancing at the small dial, I guessed they were going to basement level. I pounded down the stairs beside the elevator. The first two flights I was okay, but on the third… I rounded the corner and on the third step, my foot slipped and I fell down the flight of steps. Everything felt like it was in slow motion as I hit the ground and a wave of pain came over me, "Lyd… ia." I closed my eyes and gave way to the darkness. A minute later, I opened them again. I was in a strange, black-and-purple room. _Where am I? Am I dead? _A picture of Lydia walking her dog with my mother and a fat, white-haired man I had never seen before floated by. She was smiling, watching her dog. She was **happy**. I growled, "They had to choose her. They had to choose Lydia." A picture of my father looking worried and sick floated by next. He had always been worked too hard. He hadn't taken a day off in five months. A tear formed in my eye and trickled down my cheek, "FATHER!" Glancing up, I gasped as I saw a familiar figure, roughly my height. It was Lydia. "Lydia!" I called, running towards her. "I know we've never met before, but I'm your-" I froze as she disappeared, wisps of fog curling around where she had been mere moments before, "Twin… sister…" I felt myself being dragged down by cold hands into the dark cavern below. I hit the ground, not exactly hard, but not softly either. I heard a quiet voice behind me, whispering all kinds of tales into my ear. "I can give you the revenge you seek. These are the powers of darkness. Use them to get revenge! Revenge on your sister! Your step-father, the one who tore your mother away from you!" I turned around to look at the figure, but all I could see were the two glowing objects. I nodded and they zoomed towards me and the darkness engulfed me. I screamed in pain as the only thing in my vision became even darker, foggier. A moment later, I blacked out.

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

I opened the door and stepped into the carriage. No one was there, "No one? It's like a ghost train on here. Oh, maybe it is a ghost train!" I ran for the door beyond and quickly opened it. Inside, three kids were sitting down, looking either ay me or their phones. I walked over to the boy with black, curly hair who was eating a small bar of chocolate, "Um… are you here 'cause of the phone thing?" A girl with black hair nodded and turned to the chocolate boy, "With him here, that makes four of us. I wonder if that means something special." I looked between them, "Something special? Why did you get on this train? Was it the message?" The boy opened one eye and looked at me, his chin resting on the palm of his hand, "Look kid. This was the closest train to the elevator. Now just leave me alone." I shrugged, "Geez. Sorry." I turned to the black-haired girl, "There must be a reason why you picked this train, right?" She grinned, cocked her head and shrugged, "I'm like him. It was closest to the elevator." The boy opened his eyes, grinned and nudged me, "Watch this. Hey, gorgeous, you want some chocolate? I'm Aaron, by the way." She grinned and cocked her head again, "I'm Chloe. Nice to meet you."  
"I'm Darren." I said to Chloe, ignoring Aaron who obviously was in way over his head. "I'm," We all looked over at the young boy who had his head down. "I'm- I'm John. I didn't want to get on this train." I looked at him with interest, "What are you saying?" His shoulders began shaking as if he was crying, "Two… bullies. Pushed me on an-and shut the door." He looked up and we could see tears streaming down his cheeks as he yelled, "WHY IS EVERYONE ALWAYS PICKING ON ME?!" I sighed, unsure what to do as Aaron turned away, "Geez. This kid's like a faucet." Chloe turned to glare at him as we left the long tunnel, "Aaron! Don't be so mean!" He shrugged as the track began to swerve and we all fell to the ground. I opened my eyes as I felt a tingly feeling and looked at the others. Chloe was on top of Aaron and Tommy was beside them when a ghost-like figure appeared in front of each of them for a split second before disappearing. I gasped as the track became smooth again and we all stood up, Chloe helping John. We all looked out the window as a bunch of marshmallow-looking creatures floated by. John stepped up on the seat, "They're kinda cute." Aaron took out a second bar of chocolate, "They look like marshmallows which go great with chocolate." Chloe looked closely at one of them. It pressed itself lightly against the window, then a little harder, then fully and he slid down while smiling making him look rather creepy. Chloe screamed and clung onto me as we all laughed. She blushed, "It's not like I was scared." Aaron rolled his eyes, still laughing, "Yeah. I always scream in terror when I'm not scared." John turned to me, a worried look on his face, "Are they ghosts?" I looked at them, "Probably the ghosts… of kids who came here before!" The track got rough again and once more, we fell to the floor. I felt around in my pocket for my phone. I took it out to check for another message, but in its place was a red-and-navy device.

Darren Hughes. Welcome to the digital world. This is your d-tector. You will use it to find your spirit.

I gasped, "What are you talking about? What's a spirit?" The screen went blank and I looked up to see Aaron, Chloe and John having similar conversations with their own d-tectors.

Chloe had a pink and grey one, Aaron, yellow and red and lastly, John had a cerulean and white one. We all crowded over to the door as the train slowed to a stop. The door opened, revealing more of the tiny, marshmallow-like creatures and different, purple ones that looked a bit like eggs with ears and fur. They began having a conversation that we couldn't exactly hear due to the fact that they were all talking at the same time, but I caught the words 'humans' and 'play' somewhere along the line. "Come on already!" The carriage tipped us out onto the warm, metal floor. "Sorry. That first step's a bit of a doozey." I nodded as I stood up. The tiny creatures had left before we could flatten them. "Wait. Did the train just talk?" Chloe cried. I stared at what I had assumed was a train. It had a large mouth and a pair of eyes that closed every time he said something, "I'm not a train. I'm a Trailmon, a digimon. I have feelings just like you do, although I'm a touch more handsome. Now I have a schedule to keep. See ya!" He backed away out of the station as we all called after him.  
"Well, I guess this is it. We're alone."  
"Wait! Come back!"  
"Yeah! Pretty please?"  
Tears formed in John's eyes as the Trailmon wheeled away yelling that if we wanted to go home, we'd have to find our spirits, whatever that meant. John's tears began flowing freely down his face as he ran towards the track, "I wanna go home!" He began walking on the track, wavering every now and then. "John!" I yelled. "Come back! You're going to be killed!" John continued walking, "I don't care. At least I won't be here anymore!" Aaron sighed as I ran forwards, "Why do I get the feeling we're going to spend all our time rescuing the baby."  
"John… I'll bring you home!" He looked over his shoulder at me, stopping, "Huh?" I nodded, "That's right! Trailmon said to go home, we had to find the spirits, so we'll find them and go!" John nodded and began to turn around, "Okay." Suddenly, he slipped and only saved himself by grabbing onto the pole. "Hang on, John! I'll get you!" I cried, just before a burst of green flames erupted from a nearby building and two creatures, who I assumed were digimon, tackled me to the ground. The white digimon looked at me closely, "It's a human!" The yellow digimon turned to him, "You think everything's a human!"  
"Don't start with me you!" I pushed myself up a tiny bit, "Yeah I'm a human. Now could you get off me?" The white digimon stood up, "Sorry about that. His fault."  
"Yeah. My faul- hey!" The yellow digimon turned once again to his friend and glared at him, I think. It was hard to tell due to the fact that his eyes were closed. I looked up, hearing a roar and a large, black, dog-like digimon with three heads rushed out of the now-aflame building. "What is **that**?!" I cried as the two digimon hid behind me, "Cerberumon, a very bad dog. His special attack is Emerald Blaze." I backed up a little bit as he came closer, "I can sense the spirit somewhere. Tell me where it is so I can destroy it!" I stood up, anger going to my head, "No way! That's **my** spirit!" I realised my mistake as the white digimon gasped. Cerberumon turned to me, "So it's your spirit! Well, if I destroy you, that'll be just as good as destroying the spirit! Emerald Blaze!"I jumped out of the way as the attack of green fire blazed over where I had been seconds before. "What are you waiting for! Run!" The white digimon commanded. I looked around as Cerberumon prepared for another attack, "Yeah, but where to?" Chloe pointed to John, "Darren! The rails!" I nodded and ran onto the one that John was still clinging to as Cerberumon's attack melted the iron holding it onto the ground. The rail creaked and bent down towards the ground and we slid down. We hit the ground and I stood up, making sure that John was okay. In front of me was a large cylinder of light and as I stared at it, I saw a small figure in the middle of it become a man-like digimon. I gasped as I stepped into it and my d-tector levitated up to my hand. I saw the figure walk towards me and I knew what to do. Grabbing the d-tector, I pointed it at the smaller figure, "Spirit!"

* * *

**Normal POV;**

John, who had climbed up the small wall to the station, Chloe and Aaron watched as Darren stepped into the light and Cerberumon watched in horror, "NO!" The light disappeared to reveal Darren pointing his d-tector at a small figure which was absorbed. He then turned to face Cerberumon and a ring of data surrounded his hand. He slammed it into his d-tector and raised it above his head, "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" A plate of armour came over him. He looked different, he had a red suit of armour, with a yellow and orange mask, two horns with two red stripes and blonde hair streaming. Below he had black with Red armour over his arms legs and solders with Flames on them. "Agunimon!" Cerberumon stared at him in horror, "The warrior of fire! How could I let this happen?"

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

I ran towards Cerberumon as he stared at me, "Pyro Darts!" The attack sent him sprawling backwards as the white digimon took a large book out of his pink waistband, "That's Agunimon, the Legendary Warrior of Fire!" Cerberumon stood up, "That hurt! Now you're going to get it! Portals of Darkness!" Several portals appeared wherever I touched, and I slipped into one of them which dragged me into a world of pitch black darkness. Cerberumon followed me in and the portals above us closed, "You can't escape the world of darkness!" I nodded, "Fine! I'll just defeat you without escaping! Pyro Tornado!" Cerberumon's eyes widened in astonishment as the attack was sent at him, "How could I be beaten by a **human**?" A large ring of data surrounded him. I knew it as the fractal code, although I didn't know how. I walked forwards, d-tector in hand, "It's time to take the fractal code back. Fractal code, digitise!" Cerberumon turned back into and egg and I collapsed in my human form as the white digimon looked in his book again, "Cerberumon turned back into a digi-egg." He then turned to the yellow digimon who was peeking over his shoulder, grabbed the waistband of his pants, pulled it back and let go, "Back off. You didn't want to carry the book!" I groaned and leaned against the wall. I had a huge headache and the two bickering digimon weren't exactly helping. Seeing a flashing button on my d-tector, I pressed it. Around us, data appeared and a large landscape grew and attached itself to the terminal. I groaned as I saw a small sign saying 'Flame Terminal'. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I looked at the girl sitting down and raised my eyebrows. She had been staring at me for a few minutes and it was getting creepy. As if realising that she was staring, she blushed, "Um, sorry about that. I'm Arlene McCarthy." I walked over and sat down opposite her, "Lydia O'Dwyer." I replied in a monotone voice. She sighed as the track suddenly swerved and she fell on top of me. I blinked. I could have sworn that her face had been covered by purple sunglasses, there had been white streaks on her cheek and her hair had turned white. She opened her eyes and stood up, blushing as she offered her hand to me, "Sorry. I wasn't expecting that." I stood up on my own, not taking her hand. I didn't need anyone's help. She gasped and looked at my right hand where I held my phone, "Didn't you have your phone a second ago? What happened to it?" I looked down. In my phones place was a strange grey and white device. I nodded to hers and she lifted it up to eye level and blinked a few times. Her device was almost identical to mine except that it was black and purple to match her outfit, "Aw, man! My mom's going to kill me! I only just got that!" I rolled my eyes and looked out the window. There was no ground beneath us, only tracks, but I decided not to freak her out by mentioning it. I gasped, "What the-" Ahead of us, a green landscape was appearing behind a metal village and I could faintly see who I thought was the kid from the elevator earlier. I growled to myself and walked towards the door as the train slowed to a stop. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Thanks for reading, now please review!


	3. Chapter 2: Shine On

A/N: Here's the second chapter. Thanks for being so patient. Took me three days to do! Had to watch the actual episode so many times! :O I don't mind though cuz it's my fav episode. Anyway, enjoy and thanks to everyone who reviewed or read!  
Disclaimer: I don't own digimon

* * *

**Chapter Two  
Shine On**

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

I groaned and looked around. I had a pounding headache and no idea what had just happened. I looked up at Chloe, Aaron and John, "What just happened to me?" She put her hands on her hips as John's expression of surprise turned to a huge grin, "You mean, **before** or **after** you turned into a digimon?"  
"Me a… digimon?!" I couldn't believe it. The white digimon walked forwards with one finger in the air, "Yes. Through the process of digivolution." I turned to him, "Digi- what?"I looked down at my d-tector and frowned, "It had to be something I pressed." I began pressing random buttons, growing more agitated by the second as nothing happened, "Come on, digivolution! **Start**! Operation; turn me into a digimon… Thank you!" I sighed in happiness as the screen of my d-tector lit up, but instead of digivolving…

Fractal code, rendered.

Every living thing in the terminal watched in amazement as a light surrounded my d-tector. "Oh, boy. I think I broke it!" I gasped, holding it at arm's length. The white digimon looked up, "I knew it! It's the fractal code!" A stream of data flew towards the land and latched itself onto it, making it grow as it worked its way up to the terminal. We all stared at the growing data in amazement. Eventually, it stopped and became a lush, green forest surrounding the terminal. "There's no **way **this is happening!" Aaron gasped as I stood up and walked over to them. "Whoa. Did I do all that?"  
"It's the dawn of regeneration!"  
"No more living in a train station!"  
"Trailmon will never go 'whoo whoo' in my ear again!"  
We grinned as the excited digimon talked and led us towards the forest. The white digimon turned around and smiled at us, "Nice going, my human friend! By the way, I'm Bokomon, keeper of the book. At your service!" The yellow digimon turned to face us next, "And I'm Neemon, keeper of my pants. Also at your service, you awesome human!" Bokomon, still facing us, grinned again, "On behalf of the digital world, except our thanks, o human who restores what had been lost!" That was going a bit far. "Call me Darren," I said, running to keep up with the over-excited digimon. "And I still don't get why all of this 'fractal code' stuff is such a big deal, anyway."  
"What? You really don't know? He doesn't know!" Bokomon said, surprised, still facing us. _Okay. How does this guy run when he's not looking where he's going? _"Hey, why are we running?" Aaron asked Chloe who was keeping up perfectly well. "I don't know." She glanced at Aaron and we all skidded to a stop as Bokomon brought out the book I had seen him with before, "Behold! Before the evil Cherubimon came, our world was a peaceful place." Neemon nodded, "Flowers, trees and butterflies!" Bokomon sighed, "Neemon, I'm in the middle of something here." The yellow, rabbit-like digimon shrugged, "Sorry." Bokomon sighed again and continued, "His power made many digimon go wild and our world started to die. The only way to bring back everything that was lost is with the Fractal Code!" I nodded, beginning to understand, "And I made it happen. With this… little device." Chloe closed her eyes and leaned back a tiny bit, "Wow. I wonder if I could do that too!" I shook my head and grinned, "No way! If you could, you'd have already done the whole 'digivolution' thing!" We continued to bicker until Bokomon grasped his head, complaining of a headache.

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I sighed as Chloe asked if she could digivolve too. No one seemed to be thinking about getting home. I glanced down at John, "I know. John!" I pulled him back as he looked at his green-and-ice-blue d-tector. "Hey, shorty. I have an idea!" We began walking back towards the station, "This place sucks. It sucks big time. You with me, kid?" John hesitated as we crossed over a grass-like bridge, "Yeah, well, I guess so, but-" I stared at him in astonishment, "But what?" He grinned and held up his d-tector, "When Darren turned into a digimon, he looked killer cool! Just like a superhero!" I sighed with annoyance, "He wasn't **that** great." John looked up at me, "Well, I've always wanted to be a hero!" Okay. If I wanted company on the way home, I'd have to act fast, "Kid, take it from me. This hero stuff? It's way overrated! And I should know! It's entirely too much work. Dangerous, not to mention annoying, and there's always some sap yelling, 'O save me! Save me!'." John's grin faded and he looked at the ground, "Well, I guess." Mission complete, "Ata boy! Now what's say we find our way outa this dump!"

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

Stepping out of the large, silver Trailmon, I coughed slightly as the steam rose up to my face. Stepping out of range, I looked down at my navy-and-white device.

Lydia O'Dwyer. This is your D-Tector. Commence your search.

I growled as the trench-coat-girl, _Arlene?_, had a similar conversation with her own d-tector, "Search? For what?"

The spirit.

"How do you know my name? Hm?"

Find the spirit and you will find the answers to all your questions. Never give up searching for the spirit, Lydia O'Dwyer, for the spirit awaits you. Once you find it, the mysteries that surround you will begin to make sense.

I growled again, "Not good enough. I not just some **lapdog** you can order around you know." My d-tector stayed silent. "What is this 'spirit' anyway?" Once again, my d-tector remained silent. I frowned, "I mean, how will I know where to look for it?" The screen went blank and I growled in annoyance. From the screen, a large map appeared, "What's this? This place gets weirder by the minute!" Steam once again arose from the Trailmon, "Yeah. You said it." _Did the train just talk? _I looked down at my map again as Arlene walked over to me, "You too?" I nodded and began walking away. She followed me, looking down at her own map. I growled, "Will you leave me alone?!" She looked up, hurt, "Geez. I'm just looking for my spirit, whatever that is. Both of our maps are leading in the same direction. Maybe the two are near one another!" I growled again and turned around, "Just stay out of my way."

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I laughed as John and I re-entered the small village that surrounded the terminal. There was another of those egg-head digimon with ears relaxing on top of the roof of a building. "Hey, John. Check this little guy out! Hey! Egg shaped dude with ears! What's shakin'?" He looked down at us and growled. I was beginning to think calling him 'egg shaped dude with ears' wasn't the **best** idea I'd ever had, "Listen. This world of yours isn't really our scene. Thing is, we don't really know how to leave. So whaddya say? Will you help us out?"  
"Buzz off." He turned away, leaving us staring up at him. I rummaged through my pocket and brought out one of the many chocolate bars I had stuffed inside, "I'll make it worth your while! Here!" I held up the bar as he looked down, interested. "How about a bar of premium chocolate?" I broke off two squares and held them up. He stayed still for a moment, and then leapt down, snatching them out of my hand. I walked over and crouched beside him, "Okay, eggface. Talk to me and you get the whole bar!" He chewed it for a moment and his ears curled around his face, "Mmm! Take Angler the Trailmon back at the train station. He can take you two back where you came from!" John gazed at him, happily, "Wow! For real?" The digimon nodded, "Now fork it over!" I nodded and handed him the end of the chocolate, "Thanks, bud!" John and I ran back towards the train station as he ate the end of his bar.

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I looked up from my map as I heard excited laughing. Two kids, one several years younger than me and the other, possibly a year older, ran past me towards the train station. I raised my eyebrows, slightly concerned, "There goes an accident waiting to happen." I thought about the happy-go-lucky expressions on their faces. "They shouldn't be wandering alone in this place, but…" I shrugged and reverted my gaze back to my d-tector map as Arlene caught up to me, "Oh well. I'm not here to play babysitter!" Arlene looked at me, confused. I shook my head and growled, still considering going after the two imbeciles, "Never mind!"

* * *

**John's POV;**

My heart was racing as we reached the station. Angler was there and waiting for us. "Hey there, you sweet mug of transportation, you! You like taking a ride? To the real world?" Aaron asked, leaning in and winking. I copied his actions, "Yeah, please?" Angler stared at us, "Uh… Take a hike!" I sighed in disappointment as Aaron once more, dug around in his pocket, "How about a tasty down payment? And two **more** bars once you get there!" Angler looked at him and licked up the chocolate bar. Chewing it, his cheeks reddened, "YUMMY!" We grinned in happiness and walked over to a door. "I'm off the charts!" We coughed as we got a facefull of steam as Angler drove off. I coughed again, "You're supposed to-" I broke off, coughing as another group of ghost-like digimon stared at us. "To take us…" I continued, trailing off as I realised he was out of earshot. "With you!" Aaron finished the sentence for me as a group of the egg shaped digimon bounded into the station. They turned to face us and one jumped up, "Hey, chocolate boy! We want more!" Aaron glared at them, "No way!" There was a small glaring match and the digimon got into a large huddle. "Uh oh!" The ghost like digimon repeated, one after the other as the quickly exited the scene. One of the egg-digimon, the leader, turned back to face us, "GET THEM!" We barely had time to move before they were on us, biting us. We screamed in terror and pain as Aaron and I jumped down off the path and ran over to the other side, Aaron picking me up so that I wouldn't be caught. "RUN!" He yelled as we escaped the station. _What do you think I'm doing?!_

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

"More room for Poyo-pinball!"  
"Yeah!"  
I grinned and tapped on the window of a nearby house that Bokomon claimed as his as the digimon chatted and laughed amongst themselves. "Hey, where's John?" I looked up as Darren noticed John was missing, "He's with Aaron, I think." Bokomon opened the window I had just been tapping on, surprising me, "Maybe their playing hide-and-go-seek." Neemon popped his head out of the window beside Bokomon, "Maybe, they got eaten by a bunch of big, old bears!" I stood up and looked around, "Alright. Now I'm worried!" Darren began to walk away as I stretched, "We'd better go look for them!" I nodded and walked away as the window slammed shut on Bokomon and Neemon. We wandered around, looking for the two when a bunch of the ghost-like digimon that creeped me out earlier went by us. "Where could they be?" I asked, still looking around, worriedly. Bokomon, spotting the ghost-like digimon, called out to them, "Hey Poyomon!" They turned to face him as he continued, "Have you seen any **human** children?" They nodded in unison, "We saw two being chased into the forest by Pagumon over there." Neemon gasped as the Poyomon continued on their journey home, "Oh! That's worse than bears!" I crouched down so that I was almost level with Bokomon, "Pagumon?" Bokomon nodded, looking slightly worried, "Nasty little digimon with bad attitudes." Darren looked in the direction the Poyomon had pointed us in and growled.

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

John and I yelled in terror as we ran across the bridge to escape the angry digimon. As we paused to catch our breath, they jumped on us again, forcing us to run in another direction. We dropped into a ditch, hoping that we had lost them and lay down, panting for all we were worth.

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I looked down at my map. The pink dot that was supposed to tell me where I was was directly in the middle, "Ugh! This is getting old!" I looked up as the map disappeared. Arlene was, once again, some way behind me. All I could see were trees, but… Wait. _Is that a cave?_ "It's probably safer to stay **away **from creepy holes in the wall." I growled and took a step forwards, "But I didn't come all this way to play it safe! This better not be someone's idea of a joke." I took a few steps into the cave as Arlene finally caught up with me, "Anyone here?" I sighed as no reply other than the sound of Arlene running to catch up with me came, "Okay, I suppose not." As I reached the bottom of the large flight of stairs, Arlene, who was still only three-quarters of the way down, took a flying leap and landed right beside me. I glanced at her, amazed. _Okay, you're not bad. But one lucky jump doesn't make you all that. _"Okay, you're not bad. But don't think that just because you made one lucky jump you're going to impress me." She raised her eyebrows and nodded, accepting that fact. I looked down at my d-tector again, but it was still blank, as was hers. _If this is that brunettes doing, so help me!_

* * *

**John's POV;**

I frantically pushed the two buttons on my d-tector. We were still in the large ditch and Aaron was keeping a lookout for the egg digimon. "Ugh! Come on! Digivolve! Make me digivolve **now**!" I almost screamed with frustration. Aaron glared at me, "Keep it down." I ignored him, still pressing buttons, "I **am **keeping it down, but I want to digivolve like Darren so we can beat those guys!" Aaron glared at me even more fiercely, abandoning his post, "That's crazy talk! What do you think a runt like you could do, huh? Besides, digivolving looks kinda painful. Ever think about that?" I continued pressing buttons, "I bet digivolving's not as painful as being eaten alive by those crazy digimon!" I looked up, hearing a scuffling noise. Aaron was looking at me, confused. I yelled in terror, "Uh… be-hind-lots-of-di-u!" He looked behind him. The large group of egg-digimon were on the ledge behind him. We stared at them for a moment, and ran screaming in terror, but Aaron tripped and landed hard, causing the ground beneath us to cave in. I dropped my d-tector as I fell, screaming in fright. We landed on a bed of leaves and sat up, groaning, "You okay, kiddo?" I nodded, "I-I think so."  
"Cool. Let's scram before we become someone's lunch!" He held out his hand, which I grabbed, to help me up. We began walking down what seemed like an endless maze of tunnels. Seeing a small rock, I marked one of the pipes. Hopefully, I wouldn't see it again.

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

"John!"  
"John!"  
"Aaron!"  
"Answer me!"  
I heard Bokomon talking to Neemon as we yelled for John and Aaron. "It's just as peaceful as I remember it. Except for the screaming kids." Neemon nodded in agreement as we walked away, "They are **loud**!" I sighed as I walked beside Chloe, "Where could they have gotten off too?"  
"Poor John. He's such a little guy. He didn't even want to be here in the first place." I closed my eyes and stretched, "Yeah, you're right. He really shouldn't be out without his parents. I guess I'm just gonna have to keep my eye on him." I heard Chloe giggle and I opened my eyes, "Look at you, pretending to be all mature! How adorable!" I glared at her, "Hey! Whaddya mean 'pretending'? I'm in first year!" She smiled and giggled again. _Okay, that giggle is really beginning to bug me. _"Really! You're in the same year as I am? Who'd have thought? I thought you were two or three years younger than me." She turned around to face me, hands on her hips, "At **least**!" I glared at her, "Wait a minute! What's that supposed to mean?" She smirked at me for a minute, "When's your birthday?"  
"In November!"  
"Ha! I knew it! I **am **older! I was born in March. That makes me a grand total of nine months older than you!" She held up eight fingers and one thumb to amplify her point, winking as she did so. I growled at her and stalked past her, "That doesn't mean anything!" She followed me, still giggling, "Whatever!" We stopped on a large ridge and I looked down, "Hey check it out!" Chloe gasped and moved forwards, her hand outstretched, "That belongs to John!" Suddenly, the ground crumbled under her foot and she fell, grabbing me to steady herself. I felt her weight pull me down and we fell into a huge hole. _Geez! For such a small girl, she sure weighs a lot!_ We landed in a large bed of leaves and she sat up quickly, "I'm alive! I'm alive! Oh, I could just kiss you!" I stared at her and blushed, "Uh…" _Wrong thing to say._ She blushed and slapped me multiple times, sending me sprawling back into the leaves she had just pulled me out of, "GET AWAY FROM ME!" I sat up, angered and confused, "What? Girl, you're the one who grabbed **me** in the first place!" She growled as I rested me weight on one hand, "My name is not 'girl', its Chloe. And keep your hands to yourself in the future, little boy!" I sighed and anime-sweatdropped, "So, are all **mature **girls this **crazy**?" She turned away from me, "That is so like a child! Sitting here, yapping away when we **should **be looking for John!"  
"Fine! Let's go!" I looked down at my red-and-black d-tector, then up towards the looming tunnel ahead, "They're probably… in there!" I gulped and laughed nervously, "Ladies first!"

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I threw a handful of leaves up into the air and sighed. John and I had been wandering the tunnel for ages! The leaves blew in front of us, down the seemingly never-ending dark tunnel, "The wind's blowing in this direction, so if we go this way, we should find a way out!" John looked doubtful, "Are you sure?" I continued walking, "Yeah. Why?"  
"So there's no chance we're walking around in circles?"  
"What gave you **that **idea?"  
"This cross! Here!" He pointed to a small cross on a pipe just beside him. I shrugged, "So it's a cross. So what?" John looked up at me as I frowned, "Well, I drew it when we started out." _Great. Why couldn't I have thought of that idea? Outsmarted by a third class kid! _Tears began to form in the young boy's eyes as I anime jumped backwards, "That means we'll be stuck down here for days!"  
"That's if we're lucky! It could be months!" I cringed as I said those words and the tears streamed down John's face as he began crying, "Not again! Here, this'll make you feel better." I rummaged in my pocket and brought out another chocolate bar. Breaking off a square, I handed it to John as he stopped crying, "Go on." He took it and I broke off a bit for myself, "Look on the bright side. At least we won't starve!" John nodded in agreement and we grinned at one another. Just as we were about to eat the chocolate, we looked up as a chattering noise began. There were dozens of pairs of red eyes and a small digimon dropped down. It was the egg-digimon leader again, "WE'RE BACK!" We screamed in terror as the large group jumped down on us. I grabbed all of the chocolate bars I could from my pocket and threw them at them, "Here! Just take them!" We ran off into the tunnel as the digimon grabbed the bars. As I paused for a breath, one of them looked at me, "That human smelled like chocolate!" I gasped as one on top looked at me, "Eat the human!"

* * *

**Arlene's POV;**

I sighed as we came to yet another dead end. This time, the exit was blocked off by bars. Lydia turned to leave, but I grabbed her arm, "Wait." Kicking out, I pushed the bar-door, which was weak and rusted, out and it fell to the ground with a loud clatter. She nodded and we looked out. We were about ten feet above ground level, "What's this?" I was about to reply to the obvious, a sewage tunnel, when we heard yelling. "Help! Somebody!"  
"I am not a chocolate bar!"  
The two boys I had seen running towards the train station earlier ran into the room, followed closely by a group of angry digimon. Lydia gasped and leaned in. The digimon caught up with them and began attacking and, what looked like, trying to eat them! Lydia, grabbing a metal pole, slid down it by one hand, yelling all the way to distract the digimon. She stood up and I saw her grin slightly, happy that she had made the impressive looking landing. I shook my head. She had a lot to learn, "You think that's good? Watch this!" I knew it wasn't exactly the time for showing off, but it was distracting the digimon, giving the two boys a chance to slowly back away. Not bothering with the pole, I ran forwards and flipped off the ledge, doing a small summersault and landing on my feet, snapping a pole near the ground as I landed. I smirked at the growling Lydia and held up the pole in a defensive manner. Lydia immediately broke the pole she had slid down on as the digimon lunged towards us. Rushing forwards, we attacked the digimon with the poles, not even flinching as their teeth met our skin. "Who're they?" I heard the younger boy ask. The older one stared at us, grinning idiotically, "Those guys are serious!" The digimon piled on top of me and, rather than spinning around like Lydia did, I simply back-flipped out of the small, cave like hole they had created and sent them flying as I hit out at them with the pole. Lydia and I grinned as the digimon hit the walls and the one Lydia had sent flying up crashed to the ground and glared at us, "Oh, yeah, humans? Don't smile yet!" He was surrounded by a swarm of data as Lydia and I gaped at him. He disappeared and in his place was a large pile of sludge. It slowly stood up (at least I think it did) and we readied our poles again as the boys screamed in terror at the sight of the new digimon. "Wha wou you wan?" I couldn't even make out what it was saying as we glared at it and my d-tector began beeping. "Not a good time." I muttered.

Raremon.A sewer digimon. If the smell of its rotting flesh doesn't knock you out, its Acid Sludge attack will.

"Great! More good news!" I muttered again as the two boys finally began to run. The older one escaped range of Raremon, but the younger one tripped. "Acid Sludge!" Lydia raced forwards and grabbed the boy, pulling him out of harms way as the attacks hit the walls and floor, creating large holes. I growled as Raremon got ready to attack again. With Lydia holding the young boy, they were both in danger. I rushed forwards and drove the pole into Raremon's arm, but he laughed and threw me back. I flew past Lydia and the boy, almost falling into the large hole in the middle of the floor. I saved myself by grabbing the edge with my fingertips and I slowly began to force my way up. "Acid Sludge!" Lydia was darting all around the room with the boy to avoid the acid when a boy with brown hair and Chloe, the girl I had met at the elevator, walked in, "Ugh! It smells!"  
"Spirit wake up! I need you!" So someone already found their spirit. Well at least now I knew that it wasn't a wild goose-chase. He frowned and pressed the buttons on his d-tector as I finally succeeded in pulling myself onto my elbows, "Come on! I'm not kidding here!" A white digimon beside him looked up at him, "Hey, Darren, no pressure, but you might want to think about spirit evolving before Stinky there turns your friends into goo." I looked back at Lydia. She was still holding the boy and backing slowly towards the other side of the hole and watching Raremon carefully. "Gowig subwere?" _Okay, seriously! Why can't this guy speak normally? _One foot slipped into the hole and she glared down at it. Finally climbing out, I watched to see what would happen, grabbing my discarded metal pole just in case. "Come on! Come on!" Darren was still yelling at his d-tector. "SPIRIIIIIIIIIIITTT!" A bright light surrounded him and when it cleared, he was holding his d-tector at shoulder level with a ring of data around his other hand. Bringing the two together, he called out, "Execute! Spirit Evolution! Agunimon!" He ran, fast as lightning, over to Lydia and the young boy, shoving Raremon into a wall as his sludge splattered the walls and ceiling, creating large holes. Blocking one lump of sludge that went flying towards them, he turned to the two, "Now's your chance! Run!" Before the two could move one inch, however, a bright light surrounded him and he became a human once again, "What's going on? I turned back into me!" They looked around in awe as light began to shine in from the many holes giving the room a shimmering look. "Stiww here!" I rolled my eyes as Raremon popped up again, "Acid Sludge!" Darren gasped, "Watch out!" He lunged over, forcing the young boy to the ground, but knocking Lydia into the hole in the process, "Oh no!" I ran over and saw the last strands of her hair disappear. I turned to Raremon as one light shone into the hole, "You just killed my first friend! For that you're going to pay!" I rushed forward with the pole, but a bright light zooming towards me caused me to stop. My d-tector, reacting to it, floated up to shoulder level. I gaped at it as I grabbed my d-tector, "Could it be?" I frowned and pointed my d-tector towards it, "SPIRIIIITT!" A strange '金' like symbol appeared on my screen and I smirked at Raremon, "You're in for it now!"

It is time.

* * *

**Normal POV;**

Arlene's d-tector absorbed it and she held it up, looking down at her free hand as a ring of data surrounded it. Quickly slamming it into her d-tector, she yelled out, "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Her hair became white and short, except at the front where two strands were longer than the rest. Her eyes became covered with a pair of purple sunglasses as her shoulders and chest were covered with metal armour. A flowing skirt appeared, but it appeared to be aerodynamic and a pair of glittering wings emerged from her back. Purple boots and gloves worked their way onto her hands and feet as her wings folded down into pockets and she grabbed to light-saver like swords out of the air and swung them around for a moment before placing them in the pockets. She was, "Flasinamon!"

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I screamed in terror as I fell into the hole. Was I going to die? Suddenly, a spot of light shone into the hole, followed by many more as the floor of the hole lit up. A metal-wolf like figure appeared in the middle and I stared at it, "Uh…. uh… what's going on here?" It seemed like the figure flew up to meet me as I slowed down and began to gain control of my fall. Dozens of more lights joined the first one as I grabbed my d-tector, understanding, "SPIRIIIIIITTT!" It was quickly absorbed by my d-tector and a bright light surrounded it as a symbol appeared on the screen.

It is time.

* * *

**Normal POV;**

Lydia held her d-tector at shoulder level as a ring of data surrounded her left hand. Quickly slamming it into her d-tector, she called out, "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" She screamed in a pulled back voice as white armour covered her body. She looked like a wolf, but stood up like a human. She was covered in white & blue coloured armour and had a wolf face with grey armour that went half way over her face. A visor covered her eyes, but you could still faintly see them. A purple-and-white scarf wound itself around her neck as her hair shortened and turned blonde. She stood up and grabbed two light-saver like swords and put them in pockets behind her back. She fired a shot out of the gun on her arm and yelled out, "Lobomon!"

* * *

**Arlene's POV;**

I stared as Lobomon floated down from the ceiling and Chloe exclaimed over how beautiful she was, smirking at her irritated expression. The white digimon took a large book out of her waistband and leafed through it, "The one over there is Flasinamon, warrior of friendship and the one that fell into the hole is Lobomon, warrior of light." I rolled my eyes. Well that explained the light being redirected into the hole. Raremon then **had **to ruin the moment, "Acid Sludge!" Lobomon grabbed one of the swords behind her back, "Lobo Kendo!" As I grabbed one of mine, "Sword Master!" Rushing at Raremon, we sent the sludge it sent flying at us to one side and leaped, stabbing it in the forehead. Purple goo flew out from its head on all sides and data surrounded it as we jumped back. I grabbed my d-tector, but Lobomon was faster and walked forwards, "Now you talking trash heap! Prepare to be recycled! Fractal code, digitise!" Raremon's darkened figure became an egg as Lobomon swiped her d-tector over the data and it was absorbed into her d-tector. I heard Chloe clap slightly, "Trés bon!" A bright light surrounded Lydia and I as we became human again and fell to our knees, panting heavily. Darren ran forwards, "Hey, you okay? Let me help you up." Lydia glanced at him and glared, "Don't touch me!" He stumbled back slightly on her harsh words. "I don't need your help, or anyone else's!" She stood up slowly, as did I. I grinned. If they were going to argue, then this would be good. "But I guess I should thank you for saving me. I always repay my debts." Darren looked at her, slightly confused, "I didn't do it so you'd owe me, you know." Lydia, ignoring his last comment, turned to face him, "My name's Lydia O'Dwyer. And you are?" He just looked at her, the perplexed look still on his face. Lydia rolled her eyes as I giggled quietly. I had a feeling those two wouldn't get along. "So are you going to tell me? I can't repay you if I don't know your name!" He still looked perplexed, but he finally answered, "I'm Darren Hughes."  
"Darren, huh?" Lydia turned towards the exit and began to walk away, "See ya!" She stopped as she passed me, "So, are you coming?" I considered it. I usually liked to stick with the larger group, but Lydia was desperately in need of a friend. I nodded and she grinned slightly, "You have some good skills. I trust you to have my back." I smiled and began to follow her. A complimenent from the great Lydia O'Dwyer? I was good! "Wait! What's your name?" The younger boy called after me. I turned to face him, "I'm Arlene McCarthy!" I followed Lydia into one of the many tunnels and immediately fell face flat on the ground as I tripped over a metal pole. I glared at the snickering Lydia, "You tell anyone about that and when we get back, I'll tell your whole school that you had to be saved by a 'knight in shining armour'!" She scowled at me, but her eyes were still bright with amusement. As we emerged the tunnels, a slight breeze was blowing through the trees and some white, ghost like digimon were floating above us. Lydia leaned up against a tree, "The air in the digital world smells pretty sweet." I glanced at her. That was the** second** last thing I expected her to say, the last being that she and Darren were best friends. I sighed. I had a feeling that this was the start of an adventure, and we were only beginning.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Now please review!**


	4. Chapter 3: A Million Shards of Ice

A/N: I finally uploaded. Sorry for the wait, but I've been absolutely BOMBARDED with exams all week, but now i'm on summer vaca and will be posting more often. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon. :(

Thanks to IrishDreamer4 for commenting on my last chapter! :)

* * *

**Chapter Three  
A Million Shards of Ice**

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

"If you really want to go home, all you have to do is hop on here!" I sighed as Neemon pointed to the large Trailmon in front of us. I was going to miss Aaron and John. Aaron looked at the Trailmon, "It's that easy?" Bokomon glared at Neemon, "Neemon! A word, please!" I heard them squabbling as Bokomon dragged him away by the band on his pants as we stood motionless in front of the Trailmon. "I'm taking that bad boy home! How about it, guys?" I heard Aaron exclaim as I looked at John. For some reason, he didn't seem very eager to return. Darren looked at the ground and I at the ceiling as Aaron turned to John, "Ugh. You don't really want to stay here, do you?" He growled as Darren and I didn't respond, "Fine! You dweebs enjoy your little digital freak show! Come on, John! Let's blow this stupid pop-stand!" I looked down at John again who didn't budge as Aaron walked over to the waiting Trailmon, "Aren't you going with him?" He looked scared but certain as he answered, "I've decided I wanna stay here with you!" Darren gasped and turned to look at the younger boy as I walked over to him, "I thought you **wanted** to go home!" John didn't budge, but remained looking at us, "Not anymore." Darren shook his head and shoved the boy towards Aaron, "Go with Aaron. It's dangerous here, John and besides the… fourth class is a… informative year!" John shook his head and tried to resist Darren's strength, "NO!" Darren propelled him even further towards Aaron, "Go home! Hurry up, now!" John looked back, regretfully, at us as he walked over to Aaron on the other side of the tracks. "Take care of him, Aaron!" Darren called before turning to me, "How about you, huh?" I blushed and put my hands on my hips, "I **have** a name!" He sighed and tucked his hands into his trouser pockets, "Okay, **Chloe**. Are you **leaving**?" I pressed a finger to my lips and hummed thoughtfully to myself for a minute as if trying to make up my mind, "Why? Would you miss me?" He growled and turned to me angrily, "I won't be responsible for your safety, you know!" I glared at him. Didn't he think I could take care of myself? "Good one, Romeo! I'll be fine!" He turned away as the Trailmon let out a large puff of steam, "This oughta be fun!" We watched as the Trailmon left the station, coughing slightly due to the smoke he had created. I crossed my arms and looked on as Neemon waved and said something none of us could make out that I think was supposed to mean 'au revoir'. I rolled my eyes, "Nice pronunciation!" He nodded, "Thanks!" I rolled my eyes, wondering if he really thought I was being sincere. We all sighed sadly. I was seriously going to miss those two. Suddenly, hearing footsteps I turned around. Both John and Aaron were walking back towards us. "Hey! What are you doing here?" Darren asked. Aaron rubbed the back of his head as John laughed awkwardly, "To be honest I have absolutely no idea." John pushed his glasses back into place, "Me neither!" I frowned, "Well, I'm not going to be responsible for your safety. You're on your own." I turned away as Neemon and Bokomon giggled and Aaron smiled awkwardly. Darren turned to me, "Wait a minute! Are you mocking me? You are, aren't you! Man you try and be nice to a girl!" I rolled my eyes. Maybe one day he'd get it.

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

I put my hands behind my head as we silently left the Flame Village. No one was speaking and right then, I preferred it that way. Suddenly, Bokomon ran up yo me, "I hope you're planning on helping us, Mister Darren!" I glanced down at him, "Hm?" He was pointing one finger at me and was frowning so much he'd probably beat that girl, Aoife's scowl, "You carry with you the spirit of Agunimon, one of the ten legendary warriors. You can defeat the digimon turned evil by Cherubimon. ONLY YOU HAVE THE POWER TO SAVE US! YOU MUST HELP US RESTORE THE PARTS OF THE DIGITAL WORLD THAT HAVE BEEN DESTROYED!" I hadn't moved since he started his speech and now I looked up again, "I think you need to calm down, Buddy." He jumped up and down angrily, "My name's Bokomon and I'm not your **buddy**! I don't think you understand the severity of the situation here!" Normally I would have laughed at anyone's outbursts, but right now I was too tired and confused. Aaron and Chloe turned around to look at him. He anime sweatdropped sheepishly, "Sorry, didn't mean to yell, but we need the data from the fractal code! It's the only way to rebuild the digital world!" I stopped and looked down at him. The digimon's eyes were shining with plead, "Please! Help us get the fractal code back! Save our world before it's too late! Will you?" I rolled my eyes. That was just **bad**. "Neemon, don't just stand there! Help me out! Say something, will you!" Neemon smiled good-humouredly, "Some…thing!" Bokomon jumped up and down again in anger, "What?! Are you really that dense or do you just do that to annoy me?" He pulled the band on Neemon's pants and let it snap into place as my d-tector began beeping. I took it out of my pocket, "Huh?"

Attention. Go to the forest terminal immediately.

What's a forest terminal? I thought, looking at my d-tector. "What's a forest terminal?" Everyone else asked in unison. I groaned. I hated it when that happened! Bokomon looked up at us, the band of Neemon's pants in his hand once again as I brought my d-tector closer, "How am I supposed to find it?" I growled as my d-tector screen went blank again. I also hated it when **that** happened. I began pressing buttons again, "Hey! Hey, wait! Answer me!" Bokomon took out his large book, "The forest terminal is a terminal located deep within the forest of the forest kingdom. Oh. We just follow the tracks and they'll take us right to it!" Neemon looked ahead at the seemingly never-ending tracks ahead of us, "How far do we have to follow them?" Bokomon looked down at his book again, "It says… it says… it says… uh! It says all the way!" Aaron, Chloe and John all stared at Bokomon, anime sweatdropping. I groaned, "You're full of useless information, aren't you?" We all continued walking as Bokomon and Neemon stared sadly at their old home. I looked at Aaron, "What made you change your mind about going home?" The older boy didn't look at me, "Well, I didn't really have much going on back there and I thought it might be fun to hang out with you guys for a little bit and get to know you a little better!" He blushed and scratched his chin as he looked ahead at Chloe. I laughed, "Get to know **Chloe**, you mean!" Aaron blushed even redder and glared at me, "That is **not **what I meant!" I laughed again. This was great! "Then why're you going all red, buddy?" He jumped back as I pointed my finger at him accusingly, "Hey! It's hot out! I'm sunburnt! What class are you in, anyway?" I shrugged and looked at him oddly, "First year. Is that a problem?" He stared at me shocked. _Okay. Does __**everyone**__ here think I'm in fifth class? _He quickly got over his shock and glared at me, "Well, I'm in second year!" I sighed and began walking again, "Like I'm supposed to care!" He turned away as he began walking, "Like I care if you care! I should have bolted from this digital dump when I had the chance!" I stayed a little bit behind the group to make sure Bokomon and Neemon were okay. Bokomon was dragging Neemon by the band of his red pants again. I grinned and sighed. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

**John's POV; **

"John? Why didn't you go home?" I looked up at Chloe who was glancing over her shoulder at me as she spoke. I jumped down off the track as she stopped, "I decided I want to be like Darren!" She stared at me in astonishment, "What?"  
"To become a digimon so I won't be scared all the time."  
"What about your mom and dad waiting for you at home? I bet they're worried." I gasped, "I miss my parents, but when I go back I won't be afraid anymore so they'll forgive me for being gone." I looked down at the ground, careful to make sure my glasses didn't fall. I ran on ahead, feeling tears coming to my eyes. Rubbing them vigorously, I slowed to a stop. _They'll forgive me._

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I sighed as we looked down at the large quarry before us. Bokomon sighed as he looked at the broken track, "Ugh, well this is a fine mess." I nodded as we looked around for another way across. Chloe didn't move, "So what now?" Gasping, I moved forwards, pointing at the opposite wall, "Hey, check it out, guys! That trail leads to the bottom!" Darren looked at where I was pointing, "Looks like there's a village down there. Maybe they can help us!" We quickly found the path on our side of the quarry and began running down in single file. I groaned as we saw lights dimming at the bottom. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

I sighed as Darren and John followed us across the stepping stones and Aaron looked around, "That's weird. I could have sworn those lights were coming from." I nodded, "Looked like that to me!"  
"Darren?" I looked up as John pulled on Darren's blue-grey hoodie and pointed to a small engraving of an angel. Darren gasped as I noticed twelve strange symbols beside the angel, "What is that?" I took a step forwards, "Kinda pretty!" Bokomon sighed, "Pretty. Pretty she says. Ugh. These are the marks of the twelve legendary warriors!"  
"The twelve legendary warriors?" We all said in unison. I rolled my eyes as Neemon looked at Bokomon, "I never heard of them!" Bokomon glared at him, "Are you serious? The legend of the twelve warriors was the first thing we learned in digital world history!" Neemon stared at him for a moment, "I must have been sick that day, but they sure are pretty!" Bokomon groaned and smacked his face with the large book, "In ancient times there were terrible wars between humanoid digimon and beast digimon for control of the digital world. One day, an angel digimon called Lucemon appeared. He taught them how to resolve their differences and live in peace and the fighting stopped. Lucemon was a kind, wise ruler but the peace in the digital world was short-lived. Lucemon, obsessed with his power, began to torment the peace loving digimon until they could take no more. It was then that the twelve brave warriors rose up against him and after a large battle, they defeated Lucemon restoring the peace. The legend says that one day the spirits of these noble warriors will rise again in times of trouble." Bokomon looked up at the engravings as Neemon smiled at him, "Read it to me again?" Bokomon hummed for a moment and put the book away, "Ummm… No." John looked at the engravings and pointed at one in the top left corner, "I **know** that symbol!" I looked at it, "It's the same symbol we saw when Darren's spirit digivolved into Agunimon!" John the pointed to the next one, "And that one beside it is the one we saw on Aoife's shoulder when she digivolved to Lobomon!" I clapped my hands together, "I wonder if I'll be next! Ooooh, I hope my digimon's cute!" John nodded, "I bet I'll be like the biggest, scariest digimon ever!" Aaron leaned in, "Not likely, **shorty**. I mean we're not **all** likely to evolve into digimon!" Darren looked around as Aaron began taking down the symbols in a small notebook, "We've got… company!" We looked around. Surrounding us were about three dozen candle-like digimon. Three floated forwards, one bearing a very Italian-looking moustache, "Why have you humans come to our village? You are not welcome here!" Darren gulped, "We're on our way to the Forest Terminal. Sorry to disturb you. We're just passing through!" He took a step forwards and held up his hands, as if in surrender. The digimon raised his fist, "You're melting my heart." The surrounding digimon gasped and spoke in unison, "Oh! That's a no-no!"  
"You mean to steal the ancient artefact from us don't you! Well, you won't get away with it!" The digimon took a menacing step forwards and the two digimon behind him nodded, "He's right! The humans must be punished!"  
"Hey, boss! You want us to wax 'em for ya?" Bokomon held up a clawed hand, "WAIT! Let me explain! These humans have come to help us save the digital world, not steal some artefact!" Darren looked down at him, "But we didn't know that at first." I facepalmed as Bokomon glared at him, "You're not helping. This may be hard to believe, but this boy was fused with one of the twelve legendary warriors, Agunimon!" The leader digimon gasped, "Did you say Agunimon? Impossible!" The digimon all began to debate the matter between themselves and I heard Bokomon mutter to himself, "If they don't believe us, we're toast!" (No pun intended) The leader smiled, but his eyes seemed to hold traces of malice, "Well, isn't this interesting!" I shivered as he stared at us. His gaze was creeping me out! He turned to speak to his accomplices for a moment before grinning, "Please forgive our rude behaviour, our dear young friends! We are the Candlemon tribe. It is our duty to protect the ancient artefact. So which of you inherited the spirit of the legendary warrior?" We all took a small step backwards as he floated over the river towards us. Bokomon pointed to Darren, who groaned, "It was this one, Darren." He looked closely at the young boy and nodded, "Well, you certainly have a brave face, young man. On behalf of all the Candlemon tribe, I bid you welcome! Please! Be our guests!" Darren frowned thoughtfully, "Something doesn't seem quite right." I nodded in agreement as the lead Candlemon beckoned for us to follow him, "Come along now! Don't dawdle!"

* * *

**John's POV;**

I shrank back a tiny bit as we came into view of a dozen Candlemon dancing around a large bonfire waving two large leaves each. Darren walked forwards, "Looks like a giant birthday party!" The lead Candlemon gestured his hand to the bonfire, "It's for you, my friends! A welcome ceremony! Enjoy!" He laughed heartily as we moved closer. _But how did they know we were coming? This must have taken __**ages**__ to prepare!_ He gestured his hand again as we moved towards the fire, "Come closer! Feel the warmth of the flame!" We moved a small bit closer and the Candlemon threw their leaves into the fire, creating a green smoke which they began waving towards us using their arms as fans. "Ugh! Look at this! It's sleeping clover!" I heard Bokomon exclaim as he and Neemon collapsed. I gasped as I fell to the ground, my eyes drooping. Chloe fell to her knees next to me, her black hair falling around her shoulders, "I-I can't keep my eyes open!" Aaron agreed as I completely collapsed, "Night." I vaguely felt Darren trying to shake me awake as I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids were too heavy. I felt him grab me and pull me into the river, yelling for the others to dive in. I waved my arms about as my eyes flew open. _I don't know how to swim! _I gasped for air as Darren pulled me up, "Brilliant idea!"  
"Yeah! I'll never complain about my alarm clock again!"  
"Nice way to wake up! Did we really have to jump into the river?"  
I blinked a few more times to fully wake up as Aaron and Chloe complained about Darren's wake-up call, "Darren said we had to dive in or we were going to burn up!" Aaron turned his head to look at Darren, who was still holding me, "Oh, yeah?" Darren nodded, "Did I disturb your beauty sleep?"  
"We'll be safe as long as we stay here. I'll bet fire digimon like Candlemon can't get near the water!" I groaned as Zoe yelled this so that we could hear her over the rushing water. If **we** had heard her, the Candlemon **definitely **did. "Oh yeah, guess again, human!" I gasped as the Candlemon ran after us and began firing at us. Darren dragged me underwater, barely giving me time to get a breath of air. We swam over to a large cliff and I came up, gasping for air. I heard the Candlemon discussing where we could be as we hid behind a large, formidable rock. Darren turned around to us, "I'll distract them. Then, on my signal, you guys make a break for it!" Chloe frowned, "Some plan!" Aaron nodded, "Hang on, mister president, I don't remember electing **you** leader of this stupid club! Right?" Chloe turned to him, "Yeah, that's right! We're all in this together, so any decisions we make, we make as a team, okay?" I put my head down, "I really wanna help, but I'm too small. You guys should just go on without me." Darren glared at me, "That's not an option. If I spirit evolve to Agunimon, I can snuff out the Candlemon!" Aaron snorted, "Slow down there, spirit boy! Better read your digimon handbook before you try something dumb like that again!" Chloe glanced at him, glaring, "He's right. You shouldn't try to fight alone! You're not very good at it yet." Aaron gasped, "Here they come!" We all ducked underwater and waited until the two digimon had passed by us before resurfacing. Darren glared at them, "Thanks for the vote of confidence!" He pulled his hood, which was sopping wet, over his head, "Just get John out of here, okay?" I sighed as he began swimming towards the bank. _I want to fight, but I'm not strong enough._ Aaron looked at Chloe and I, "Okay, let's move." We all began climbing the rocks, looking down as Darren jumped up onto the bank and began running. "I've seen one of them!" We looked down fearfully, hoping they weren't talking about us. They began chasing and firing fire-balls at Darren who had his d-tector in his hand, "Get him!" We gasped as he dropped it in his nervousness, "DARREN!" Aaron helped me up onto a small ridge so I could watch Darren's fight. He lunged for his d-tector, flipping over as he grabbed it, "Spirit Evolution time!" A ring of data surrounded his hand and he slammed it into his digivice, "Execute! Spirit Evolution! Agunimon!" We all stood up, cheering, not really caring if the Candlemon saw us. They were occupied with Agunimon anyway. He punched his fists together as the Candlemon attacked, "I SUMMON THE PYRO TORNADO!" He threw fire-balls at them, but it only made their glowing wicks brighten. He stared at them in astonishment as he blocked another attack. I stopped cheering, "What's wrong?" Chloe gasped, "Fire attacks don't work on Candlemon! He should know that!" Aaron nodded, "Yeah, that wasn't too bright. Come on. I'd better get us out of this hole before we get waxed!"We moved to turn around and Aaron immediately slipped, "Oh! I hate ice skating!" Beneath us was nothing but ice. Chloe gasped, "Be careful, John!" I nodded, trying to keep my balance as Aaron tried to stand up, "I-I-I-I'm tr-trying!" Aaron finally succeeded in sitting up and looked at the cave in front of us, "Wow! I didn't see that before!"  
"We should be safe from those hotheads in there!" I nodded, but gasped as the Candlemon, once again, began attacking Agunimon, their powers now amplified thanks to his 'pyro tornado'. I frantically began pressing buttons on my d-tector, "Please give me a spirit! I wanna help!" Aaron glared at me, "Give it up, kid. The spirits of the legendary warriors would **never** give their powers to a pipsqueak like you!" I ignored him and continued pressing the two buttons. _I have to help!_ Aaron took out his own d-tector, "Looks like it's **really** up to me!" As nothing happened, he groaned, "Aw, man! I wish this came with a manual!" I gasped as the Candlemon threw burning wax at Agunimon, paralyzing him, "Agunimon! Hang on!" I remembered how brave he was when he saved me from Cerberumon and Raremon and frowned. _Now it's my turn to be brave!_ "Hang on, Darren! I'm coming!" I slid down the cliff that I had just climbed, landing in the river. I heard Chloe and Aaron yelling at me to stop, but I didn't. Cupping my hands, I began throwing water at them, "Lights out, you meanies!" I knew it wasn't doing anything other than distracting them, due to the fact that the water fell short of them, but it drew their attention away from Agunimon. I glared at them, continuing to throw water, "I won't be a little kid in the way. **EVER AGAIN**!" Suddenly, a bear-like totem zoomed down to meet me. I stared at it. _Could it be?_ "It's a spirit!" I gasped. I stared at it for a moment before taking out my d-tector and pointing it at my new-found spirit, "Spirit! Come to me!" It zoomed into my d-tector and I grinned as a symbol appeared on my screen.

It is time.

* * *

**Normal POV;**

Everyone, Candlemon included, stared at John as a ring of data surrounded his hand. He quickly slammed it into his d-tector, "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" A green helmet covered his head, which was now white, furry and round with two semi-circle shaped ears. His boots were cargo and were coloured green and orange. A green armour covered the top half of his body, which was now also white, furry and round, as he grabbed a machine gun with wide, round holes in it. His warrior symbol was on a belt just below his armour and orange shoulder plates appeared. He was the warrior of ice, "Kumamon!"

* * *

**John's POV;**

I grinned as I looked down at my warrior-body as Chloe and Aaron exclaimed in astonishment how it was amazing and impossible that I had spirit evolved. I ran across the now-frozen lake and opened my arms, "Time to teach you bullies a lesson! Crystal Freeze!" I blew out a breath of freezing air as the Candlemon screamed and began to freeze over. Bokomon and Neemon, thankfully, were awake again and were unbothered by the rest of the Candlemon tribe. I winced as a second Candlemon, which my attack had not touched, moved forwards, "Hey there, teddy bear! You want a play mate?" He was surrounded by a pillar of fire and data as I shielded my eyes from the bright light. When I looked back, he was a completely new digimon.

Wizardmon. This mysterious champion level digimon can make you disappear with his Electro Squall and Magical Game attacks.

"Crystal Freeze!" I attacked again, hoping to have the same affect on the Wizardmon as I had his friend. "Take your leave!" He cried, kicking out at me. I fell backwards with a slight cry, but not a tear came to my eyes like it normally would. "Kumamon!" Agunimon cried, moving forwards slightly. The candle wax was beginning to lose its affect. Wizardmon laughed as I tried to force myself up, "Looks like the great Agunimon had a little problem with waxy build up! How about a little magical game!" He disappeared as Agunimon finally broke free of the hardened wax and I stood up, "That was **weird**." Agunimon nodded and looked around warily. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning appeared from a slightly wavering piece of the cliff. Agunimon quickly dodged it and another one as Wizardmon laughed from wherever he was. He appeared just in front of us, his golden staff up high, "Not bad, **legendary warrior**, but I've got plenty up my sleeve! Too bad you're going to lose no matter **which** Wizardmon you chose!" Agunimon stared around him in astonishment as one of them, crashing into me as he appeared, knocked me to the ground. "Agunimon, don't you see? All these Wizardmon are me! We all look real because we are! Just **try** to run! You won't get far!" I rolled my eyes as I forced myself to my knees. _This guy's absolutely __**awful**__ at rhyming! _He glared at them, "This is just a game! One of them is real and I'm gonna find it!" The Wizardmon didn't move, as if waiting for Agunimon to make a mistake, "Every warrior must fall! Electro Squall!" They all raised their staffs in unison and pointed them at the warrior of fire who quickly jumped out of the way. As the attacks met in the middle, a bright light shone on all of the Wizardmon, but only the one directly in front of me had a shadow. "Agunimon!" I cried. "Look down here! Only one of them has a shadow!" He immediately attacked the shadowed Wizardmon who fell backwards, taken by surprise at the attack. I gasped in surprise as his fractal code appeared and Agunimon walked forwards, "I never did believe in magic, but here's a trick for you! Fractal code, digitise!" I watched in amazement as Wizardmon turned back into the Candlemon that had attacked us, groaning as he lay there, unmoving. "YAY! BIEN FAIT!"  
"YEAH! BEEUN…. WHAT SHE SAID!" I grinned as Agunimon helped me up and Aaron and Chloe cheered in delight, Chloe in what sounded like French, "Thanks, Agunimon!" Agunimon shook his head and grinned at me, "No, thank you. You're one brave little bear!" I laughed as a Candlemon grinned, "Well, I guess this proves that they really **are** the legendary warriors after all!" The leader stepped forwards, match-stick-staff in his hand, "Yes. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself." I grinned as data surrounded Agunimon and I and we transformed back into our human selves. "You have indeed proven yourselves worthy of carrying the spirits of the twelve legendary warriors, my human friends. Darren and little John! You have truly honoured the names of the great Agunimon and Kumamon! We salute you both!" All of the Candlemon began cheering as I rubbed the back of my head shyly. _I'm never going to be the same, weak kid again!_

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

I sighed as the lead Candlemon apologised to us. We still had a long way to go and it was almost pitch black. It looked like we would have to stay here for the night, something I didn't want to do. I glared at him as he went on about how he had just been testing us and Darren yelled at him. He deserved every bit of Darren's wrath that he got! Darren gasped as his d-tector began beeping and he pressed a button. A stream of data appeared and flew up to the broken train tracks, fixing them so that they were whole once again. Bokomon gasped, "Wizardmon had the code!" I rolled my eyes._ Way to point out the obvious there, Bokomon!_ The Candlemon looked up at the bridge, a small smile on his face, "Wizardmon held within him the fractal code for the bridge which protected our village from evil digimon. Young Darren. For many years, no one has crossed this canyon, but you have my official permission to use this bridge. Follow the tracks and they will lead you to the Forest Terminal, but it is a perilous journey." Aaron gasped, "Uh, maybe we should think about this, guys. There's still time to go home!" I giggled, "You're just jealous because John found his inner digimon and you haven't yet." He looked at me sincerely, "Why would I care about that? Shorty can have it. It's just that being here is like working!" Darren laughed, doubling over, "We all know how you feel about that!" We all began laughing, Candlemon and Aaron included as a Trailmon crossed the bridge above us and I caught a slight glimpse of Arlene's trench coat.

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I sighed as I stared out the window of the Trailmon. Arlene, who was sitting across from me, had fallen asleep a few minutes beforehand after trying, in vain, to start a conversation. We had recently gotten a message telling us to go to the Forest Terminal and Arlene, not liking the idea of more walking, had entered a race with a bunch of digimon to win two train tickets. Without even spirit evolving, she easily won and we were on the first Trailmon to the forest. At least that was where he said we were going. Right now, all I could see was a vast, empty wasteland with a large canyon beneath us. Glancing down, I stiffened. There were a bunch of glowing lights just at the bottom of the quarry! I blinked once, and then once again. _I must be seeing things._ I decided as I yawned and stretched. _I'll get some sleep when we get to the terminal._

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed! Please review! And if you want your OC's in any of my stories, don't hesitate to let me know! :)


	5. Chapter 4: Drifting Through the Breeze

A/N; YAY! SUMMER! I can finally write to my hearts content! Just a heads up. In the episode, they never explained why, although he was less than five minutes away from them, it took Koji so long to reach JP and Zoe. In this chapter/episode, I created what I thought could have happened. Let me know if I got attacks or stuff like that wrong. Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon

* * *

**Chapter Four  
Drifting Through the Breeze**

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I stared out of the window as Arlene groggily woke up. The barren wasteland had become grassier with one or two trees. I held up my d-tector and looked at it on either side.

You must go to the Forest Terminal

I sighed in exasperation. _How many times is that message going to play?_ "The Forest Terminal." I looked out of the window again as we became surrounded by trees, "Why not?" The Trailmon let out a sigh of relief and yawned as he pulled to a stop, "Here comes the nap-time express." I sighed and stuffed my hands into my pockets as Arlene and I walked out of the train and over to a bench. He began snoring before I even got to the top. I stared at him before yawning, "I'd better catch a snooze too. This looks as good a place as any." I sat down on the bench and relaxed as Arlene continued standing. I opened one eye, "You aren't sleeping?" Arlene shook her head, "Nah. I got a snooze on the train." _Yeah. I noticed._ She turned towards the Trailmon and stretched, "I think I'll keep watch for a few hours." I shrugged and closed my eyes again, "Suit yourself." I relaxed again as she walked around, stretching every now and then. _Wow, this quiet really gives a girl time to think._

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

"So guys, are we there yet?" I rolled my eyes as Aaron stopped for a moment. Darren pretended to seem thoughtful for a minute, "Let's see. What's wrong with this picture? Desert looking wasteland, Forest Terminal. I'd say no." John groaned, "Aw! I'm tired. Let's take a rest." He stopped, but Darren pushed him on, "But there's a scenic tumbleweed just ahead! You know, Aaron. If you hadn't fed chocolate to that Trailmon, we'd be riding in air conditioned comfort right now!" I sighed and rolled my eyes again, "So he made a mistake. What're you going to do? Take away his school shoes?" Darren gasped and turned around waving as a loud 'whoooo whoooo' came to our ears, "Hey! Hey! It's a Trailmon! Hey!" I grinned, "Ugh! Finally!" He pulled to a slow stop as Darren took a step forwards so he was standing in front of it, "Hey, Trailmon. What's up? Can you take us to the Forest Terminal?" It looked worried for a moment, "Oh, I overate at my last stop. Besides, I'm a cargo train. No riders, no exceptions!" I ran over to him and jumped on. There was no freaking way I was walking to the end of these tracks! "Trailmon. I am as light as bubble wrap. S'il vous plait!" Darren ruined the moment by jumping, with everyone else, onto the other side, "Yeah, just think of us all as cargo." The Trailmon began giggling and shook us off, "Oh, your little fingers are tickling me! That's something awful! It's too much!" I groaned as I hit the ground. "I'd like to give you a ride, but I'm just too ticklish! Sorry! Keep on this track! You'll get there!" I stood up and dusted myself off as Darren just sat where he had landed, "So much for getting there soon." I sighed and cupped my hands around my mouth, "Come back here! Trailmon!" I sighed. It didn't look like he had even **heard **me. We continued walking and, eventually, came to a fork in the track. Bokomon looked at the lever and began pulling it back and forth, "Now, which way will we go? Left or right, right or left, or up or down, on or off, fast or slow? Time to make a decision! Ugh, I made myself sick." I sighed. _That's going to be hard considering Darren doesn't have a brain!_ He turned and pointed to the right, "This way." I pointed the other way which was **clearly** the right way, "That way!"  
"You're wrong!"  
"Why? Just because I disagree with you? Don't you think the Forest Terminal might just be surrounded by trees?!" I looked again at my way, which was a giant forest, and his way, which was another barren wasteland. He glared at me, "Trailmon said stay on this track and your way veers **off **the track. You think you know everything!"  
"Well, I'm right!"  
"So you wanna prove you're right?"  
"Yeah, 'cause I'm **right**! I'm going the way that makes sense! Later."  
"See ya!" I sighed and turned towards the forest as John followed Darren and Aaron ran after me, "I can't believe Darren and John went the other way. I mean, it's obvious this is the right way. I hope. He can be a real jerk sometimes." I knew Aaron was just hitting on me, but it was nice to have someone agree with you. I looked around and stopped, "You got that right!" I continued walking as he leaned over where he thought my shoulder was with his eyes closed, "I'm the beef and he's the jerky!" Bokomon stared at him as he opened his eyes and saw me walking away, "Do you think she's listening?" Neemon shook his head, "Nope!" Aaron growled and ran to catch up with me, "Wait up, C!"

* * *

**Arlene's POV;**

I looked down from a branch in the tree to see Chloe and the chocolate boy staring up at the huge tree. I had kept watch the whole night, but nothing eventful had happened. Chloe looked up, "That is one **enormous **tree!" Choco-boy nodded in agreement, "This must be the Forest Terminal, right?" Bokomon shook his head as they walked over to a large sign I hadn't noticed before, "It's called Breezy Village!" I ran over to Lydia and shook her awake quickly as Chloe asked Bokomon to repeat the name because it would be pretty high on the embarrassment scale for someone to see you sleeping on a bench. She opened her eyes and I pointed at the small group. She nodded and sat straight up, "Welcome tourists." They all looked around and Chloe smiled at me as Lydia, one arm draped over the side of the bench looked down, "So this isn't it." Bokomon sighed, "You're right. It's not." Chloe turned so that she was fully facing us, "Hey, Arlene, Lydia. What's up?" I smiled, "Nothing much. Just waiting in the wrong place for everyone else to make a wrong turn too." Lydia glared at me and stood up as Chloe laughed. She jumped down onto the track and began to walk away as Chloe, still laughing, stared after her, "Wait. Where are you going?" Lydia stopped and looked over her shoulder, "Where I go is my own business, thanks for asking." She then looked over at me, "You coming?" I debated it for a moment. I respected Lydia and enjoyed her company, but she was too uptight and what I needed was a little laugh every now and then. I shook my head, surprising her, "I think I'll hang around here for a while. I'll catch up with you later." She shrugged and continued walking, "Suit yourself!" Chloe glared at her and her small hand formed even smaller fists, "Oh! You're so antisocial!" Aaron held one finger up, "He reminds me of white chocolate. Looks good, but no taste." I turned and glared at him. Lydia could be uptight and cold at times, but for the most part she had good intentions. "Actually, I happen to **like** white chocolate." It wasn't the best comeback, but it shut him up. Bokomon looked at the sign again, "Something isn't quite right. Breezy Village is known for its spectacular views of the surrounding forest and greenery, but there's not much to see." Aaron looked around, "Spectacular view? Of what? A dump?" Chloe and I rolled our eyes and began walking to a flight of stairs as Aaron anime sweatdropped and followed us, "Let's check it out, C." Suddenly, he stopped and took out his d-tector for some strange reason. I didn't stop because he was seriously getting on my nerves and I just didn't want to spend time alone with him. I followed Chloe up the stairs as she turned to quickly glance at Choco-boy, "Hurry up, Aaron! From up here, we'll get a better idea of where we are!" _At least I know his name now. Now I don't have to call him Choco-boy! _We reached the top easily and I took a deep breath, loving the calm breeze that rippled through the leaves. "Belle! What a view!" I stared at Chloe in astonishment, "When did you learn to speak French?" She looked away from me and out into the forest where I could vaguely see Lydia's white shirt as she walked among the thinner trees, "I used to live there when I was younger. I only moved back to Ireland last year." I nodded, seeing that she wasn't very comfortable talking about it. She then spread her arms out and took a deep breath, "Mmm! Smell that air!" She walked a little further onto the branch and I followed her as Aaron came running up the stairs, yelling his head off, "Chloe! Arlene! My d-tector's doing something!" Chloe turned around, but her foot slipped and she fell, grabbing me in the process. I grabbed onto a smaller branch close to the ground as she let go of me and was caught by a bunch of flower-looking digimon. I, struggling, climbed up onto the branch, so I could judge the actual distance from the branch I was on to the ground, and jumped down, landing beside her, "Hey, Chloe, you okay?" She nodded and grinned at me as the Floramon, as my d-tector called them, put her down.

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I walked through the forest, glancing around every now and then. I was beginning to regret being so rude to those two kids and leaving Arlene behind, but there was no way I was going back now, no matter **how** lonely it was! I took out my d-tector hearing a slight, static-y sound, "Is it a spirit?" I glanced up, hearing a voice behind a cluster of shrubs, "Some **strangers** are in the village, eh?"  
"That's trouble!"  
"They're human children!"  
"Aw! You think those whining wildflowers called them in to help?"  
"Who cares? No one can stop the Mushroomon brothers!"  
"We'll get them!" I frowned as I hid behind a large tree and saw three mushroom-like digimon talking amongst themselves. They had purple-and-yellow caps, purple mushrooms were growing on their arms and they wore purple gloves and boots, but their bodies were white. One looked over in my direction as I slowly backed away and stepped on a small twig, "Hey, isn't that one of them?" I gasped. One of the Mushroomon glared at me, "Yeah, it is!" The final one took a step towards me as I backed away, only to fall as I tripped on a tree root, "She's a spy! Get her before she can warn her friends! Mushroom Mash!" I yelled in terror as they grabbed several mushrooms from their arms and threw them at me. They exploded as they hit the ground near my feet and sent me sprawling backwards. I hit my head off of a tree and black spots clouded my vision. I felt a piece of rope tighten around my left wrist as the Mushroomon walked away, "That'll keep her busy for a while." I tried to sit up, but my hands wouldn't support my body and I fell backwards and saw black.

* * *

**Arlene's POV;**

"How thoughtful of you to invite us for lunch!" Chloe exclaimed as I sipped a spoon of the delicious soup they had just handed us. Aaron nodded, "Yeah, thanks! I wouldn't mind a bowl or ten!" I laughed as Chloe too took a sip of the soup "It's amazing!" I said as I took another sip, and Aaron nodded in agreement. Chloe put her hand to her cheek and smiled widely as she swallowed the soup, "Délicieux! Yum!" Aaron looked at her, confused, "Um, day what?" I shook my head as Chloe explained to him that it was French for 'delicious'. _That guys is __**never**__ gonna catch a break!_ Chloe looked down at the Floramon as they cheered in delight, "I must know, what do you call this soup?" One of them took a small step forwards, "Frame Soup á la Floramon! It's all in the way it's made!" Another took a small frame fruit out of the fruit bowl in front of us, "Allow us to demonstrate how we do it!" The first one followed her example, "To do it, you use your head and a ripe frame fruit!" We all looked at them, confused, "Use your head?" I cried out in shock as the two petals at the front of their heads opened and they placed the fruit inside. They closed their… heads and the lead Floramon held up a finger, "Two, three, four." They all began dancing around the table, "~When you take a little frame fruit and you mix it in your skull, you make the most delicious soup, the flavour's never dull! We shake our heads, both up and down and sing this song for people, a little bit of us resides in every yummy spoonful!~ Aaaand… it's ready! Enjoy!" I gagged as they refilled our bowls with the freshly made soup which poured out of their noses. Bokomon and Neemon were the only two that continued eating, "Mmm! Delicious!" The Floramon serving them smiled, "It's brain food!"

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

"Thanks. That was… great." I said half-heartedly, stepping outside. Arlene and Aaron remained inside, trying to keep the two bowls of soup they had already eaten in their bodies. I opened my arms and closed my eyes, "Mmm. The breeze feels so good!" The Floramon beside me copied my actions, "Thanks to our special mung tree! The wind blows through the mung tree's large branches cools all of Breezy Village."  
"Wow! This breeze is like Hawaii, a vacation paradise in **our **world!" I explained, another smile creeping onto my face, "Do a lot of visitors come here?" The Floramon looked at the ground sadly, "Not like before. No one comes to visit our village now. So many trains filled with happy travellers made stops here in the past. Our village was a shady paradise and many visitors came to relax in our lush landscape. Blooming bushes and pretty plants were spread out all over the station. Our village was a perfect park that everyone wanted to see." I looked down at her and bit my lip. There wasn't much in the village that could be considered pretty or beautiful anymore, "Well, I'd say… that mung tree still looks good!"  
"Thanks for your kindness, but we know this place looks like a dried up **dump**." At that moment, a second Floramon came out of the house followed by Aaron and Arlene, who still looked faintly green, "Now we're lucky if we see one train come through here a month!" Aaron grinned, "Maybe you should put in a video arcade!" Arlene facepalmed and glared at the older boy, "Aaron, seriously! Do you **see** any electricity in this place? A pizza hut would be better!" I laughed as the Floramon turned and smiled at me, "You and you're friends are the first tourists we've had here in four months!" They stepped out, turned around and, side-by-side, bowed to us in unison, "We're indebted to you for your kindness!" Aaron raised one eyebrow, "Indebted? Does that mean you're gonna charge us?" I rolled my eyes as the Floramon shook her head, "No, no, no! It means we thank you! If you've enjoyed your time here, spread the word that our village is fun to visit!" Arlene smiled and pushed her glasses into a more comfortable position on her nose, "Of course we will!" I nodded in agreement, "You bet! You're soup's great, even if it's different!" At the mention of the soup, Arlene immediately turned green and rushed back into the house as the Floramon leaned towards me, "With your help, we might see the return of visitors, trains and happiness to our humble village!" I thoughtfully rubbed my chin, "Even if we tell everyone we meet about your village, you need to do something. Like plant new flowers!" They looked at the ground, "We've tried that, but we have a problem. We're just not strong enough." I, assuming they meant digging, grinned, "Well, I can help! I know this strong guy!" At that moment, Arlene came back out of the house, looking a bit better. The Floramon giggled and grabbed Aaron by each arm. Aaron glared at them, "Hey! What're you doing? Argh! Let go!" The Floramon on his left grinned, "You have arms like tree trunks! You'll be a good digger!" I grinned at the digimon's semi-compliment as Aaron stood up, "Me? No way!" I turned around and placed my hands on my hips as Arlene began laughing, "You know what impresses me? Strong guys that help out without even being asked!" Immediately, Aaron grabbed a shovel and began digging. Arlene, laughing even harder, placed a hand on my shoulder, "You have **got **to teach me how to do that!"

* * *

**John's POV;**

"Can we find a gas station and ask for directions?"  
"No way!"  
"What'll we do?"  
"Keep walking." Darren and I had been walking for several hours now and had seen no sign of trees, buildings or even water. I sighed as we pulled to a stop. I had a small bit of water left in my bottle, but I wanted to save it. Suddenly, Darren screamed in terror. The ground was crumbling beneath our feet! "John! Run!" _What does he think I'm doing?_ I had begun running several seconds before. We ran, screaming in terror as the rocks behind us fell into nothingness and dissolved in mid-fall. Suddenly, we both tripped on the rung of the track and fell, screaming in terror as the rocks began to catch up to us. We opened our eyes and slowly backed away. The ground had stopped crumbling less than ten centimetres away from us and one of my feet was over the edge! Behind us, only a few pieces of land were still… standing and Darren slowly crawled away, "John? Move slowly." I nodded, unable to speak with terror as I drew my foot in. I clasped onto Darren who anime sweatdropped as I began crying, "This might be a good time to go find that gas station, little buddy! Uh, listen. I think we went the wrong way, so let's be calm and-" I cut him off as I started howling. "Ugh! If this is your calm, then I don't wanna **hear** upset!"

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

"I should call you 'Miracle Worker'! It's a miracle the way you work! Onward!" I laughed as Neemon stopped pushing the wheel barrow filled with dirt and Bokomon on top, causing it to fall. Bokomon stood up, spitting dirt out of his mouth. "There!" I said, patting dirt into place around a flower. "If we keep working like this, this place will look better in no time!" The Floramon carrying the flowers looked at them sadly, "The Mushroomon will wreck it." I raised one eyebrow. _Mushroomon? This is new!_ I looked up hearing a snicker. Three mushroom-like digimon were suspended in mid-air, "Nice try! Bye-bye!" They threw three, yellow mushrooms at the ground, destroying all of the newly-planted flowers. I shielded my eyes from the bright light as Aaron, Arlene and two Floramon were thrown back by the force of the attack. I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my forehead. "Not again!" I heard the Floramon cry.

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I groaned and blinked my eyes open, waiting a moment for my vision to clear before sitting up. Feeling a slight restrain, I looked down at my left wrist. The Mushroomon had tied a length of rope to it and the other end was securely fastened around a tree. I shook my head, trying to get rid of my pounding headache. How was **this** supposed to keep me busy? Sighing, I reached into my jacket and pulled out the pocket knife I always carried around with me. Within a matter of seconds, I had cut through the rope and was on my feet. Remembering why I was actually tied to the tree in the first place, I began pounding through the forest. I stopped at the edge as a blinding light erupted from the village. I gasped. _Am I too late?_

* * *

**Arlene's POV;**

I stood up shakily as the light dimmed. Smoke filled the air, causing me and everyone else to cough, but when it cleared, I looked around in dismay. All of our hard work and more had been destroyed. Chloe gasped as the three digimon leaped up into the air again.  
"We are."  
"The Mushroomon."  
"Brothers, yeah!"  
"We thought you understood."  
"Planting trees and flowers."  
"Was a waste of time!"  
The lead Floramon stepped forwards, "Please don't wreck all of our hard work!" The Mushroomon cackled, "Giggle Grenade!" They threw another three mushrooms on the ground and, as they exploded, a yellow dust filled the air. I stared in astonishment at the Floramon as they began laughing uncontrollably, "Um… guys? I **seriously **don't get what's so funny about these guys destroying everything, but can you wait 'til **after **we defeat them to put it in a comedy film?" The Mushroomon laughed as Chloe and Aaron asked pretty much the same question as I did, "If you were a Floramon, you'd be laughing too. Our giggle grenades keep them in a good mood. They're so tired from laughing their roots off, they barely have enough energy to walk, let alone plant things!" The Floramon laughed even harder, "What did we ever do to you to deserve this meanness? We used to greet the customers at the station together, remember? You used to be real fun guys in those days!"  
"You Floramon were always more popular with the tourists! They always liked you better! No matter how hard we tried to please them, they always thought you flower girls were nicer and prettier than us!" I anime sweatdropped. Did they really think they were pretty?  
"That's not true! They liked you guys too! And your mushroom soup was always so popular with the tourists! They liked it better than **our **soup."  
"Enough! Mushroom Mash!" I gasped in horror and shoved Aaron out of the way as a mushroom hit the house just beside us, causing it to explode. Bokomon and Neemon ran out of the smoke, thankfully unscathed. Aaron stood up and a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek, "They're toasting this place like an English muffin!" _Okay, I know we're in danger and everything, but seriously! Am I gonna let that go by? _I rolled my eyes, "Is there ever an example you give that **doesn't **involve food?" He glared at me, wisely choosing not to reply. They jumped down as I turned to glare at them, "It's over! We've had it with your flower power!"  
"We're gonna."  
"Completely flatten Breezy Village!"  
I rolled my eyes again, "You three are such a cliché!" Bokomon whispered something inaudible to Neemon as Chloe walked forwards, one hand raised, "Hold it!" They looked taken aback, but the leader raised one, clenched fist, "You just stand aside, girlie!" *smack!* I smirked in amusement as Chloe brought her hand down on the digimon's cheek. His brothers immediately ran over to him, "Hey now! That's my brother! Why'd you slap him?" Chloe continued glaring at them and raised her hand as if to slap again, "You need to learn to get along!" They all gaped at her in astonishment. "Just because you feel like you're getting the short end of the stick doesn't give you the right to go around destroying things!" I nodded and walked up to her side, my arms folded, "She's right, guys. No one ever gets anywhere by fighting. You need to sort out your differences with the Floramon!" Aaron then ruined everything by strutting up to meet us, obviously trying to impress Chloe, "Yeah! Now listen up! You toadstool heads can't just go barging in here with your mushroom caps, 'cause they're just plain ugly! Right?" I facepalmed, "Aaron? You're an idiot!" Chloe stared at him, "Aaron, you just insulted them. That was totally wrong." He gasped in disappointment as the Mushroomon glared at him, "You shouldn't have said that! Now you're gonna get it! Charge!" Chloe just stood watching as the Mushroomon ran after Aaron, but gasped in horror as they began attacking him. I grabbed my d-tector, "Leave him alone!" They ignored me and I sighed, "I totally didn't want to do this, but you drove me to it! Execute! Spirit Evolution! Flasinamon!" The Mushroomon turned to me and threw their 'Mushroom Mash' mushrooms at me, but I easily blocked them, "Aaron! Get out of there!"  
"Mushroom Mash!" I gasped in pain as the mushroom hit me in the chest, causing me to fall to my knees in my human form. The Mushroomon turned to Aaron and began chasing him again as he took out his flashing d-tector and held it up, "Hello? Spirit awaken! Spirit awaken!" The Mushroomon leaped up into the air again as he tried to persuade the hidden spirit to come to him, "Nice try! Bye-bye!" He yelled out as he fell to the ground. Chloe gasped, "AARON!" Suddenly, a pink, glowing light erupted from the mung tree and zoomed towards Chloe. Aaron stood up and produced his d-tector again, "Yeah! My spirit!" Bokomon grinned as it flew towards Aaron, "Aaron's going to spirit evolve!" I rolled my eyes as it flew right past him and over to Chloe who gaped at it. _Does he really think that a __**pink, fairy-like**__ spirit is__** his**__? _Chloe cried out as the spirit was sucked into her d-tector and a symbol appeared on her screen.

It is time.

* * *

**Normal POV;**

Aaron stared in disappointment as a ring of data surrounded Zoe's open hand and she slammed it into her d-tector, "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" A purple-and-silver bikini-like armour covered her body, as did a pair of purple, metallic boots. Aquamarine-coloured wings sprouted from her back as sea-foam green streaks appeared on her cheeks, a visor covered her eyes and her hair became purple and lengthened. Silver gloves appeared on her hands as she flew down to ground level, "KAZEMON!"

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

I flew up into the air as Aaron grumbled about how I spirit evolved before him and Arlene rolled her eyes. "WOW! She's a big butterfly!" I heard Neemon exclaim as Bokomon grabbed the waistband of his red pants again, "She's not a butterfly. She's one of the ten legendry warriors! She has bonded with the ancient spirit of the wind! She's Kazemon!" I glared down at the tree digimon brothers who all stared at me in awe, "Evil creatures! Be purified by the wind!" They jumped up into the air and threw their usual trio of mushrooms, "Nice try, butterfly! Bye-bye!" I held up my hands as miniature tornadoes appeared, "Hurricane Wind!" My attack blew the mushrooms onto the ground, out of harm's way of anything that was living. They glared up at me, "Ya pesky insect!" Once again, they threw more mushrooms at me and I landed on my hands and began spinning, "Tempest Twist!" My flying legs kicked both the mushrooms and Mushroomon to the ground. I grinned and flew up into the air again as they stood up angrily, "So? We're not through yet! Revenge time!" I watched them in confusion as they piled on top of one another and a circle of data surrounded them. When it cleared, I gasped. In their place was a large, tree-trunk-like digimon.

Woodmon. A plant digimon who's Branch Drill attack is one of tremendous strength and his bark is like armour.

I ran over to him, my hair and wings streaming behind me, and flew up into the air as he glared at me, "How about a little Love Tap?!" He barely winced at my attack as I began kicking him repeatedly, "Your bark's **much** tougher than your bite!" He swung an arm at me, which I dodged, "ENOUGH!" I grinned and flipped over, scratching his forehead slightly, "Man! Am I good!" He laughed, "That really kinda tickled! My bark's feeling all funny!" I gasped. _How is it possible? My attack didn't have any effect on him! _"But do you see I'm not laughing anymore? There is no escape from my Branch Bash!" I screamed as it hit me and I fell to the ground, landing in my human form. I heard Aaron and Arlene crying my name as I closed my eyes and became immune to everything around me.

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I ran out from my hiding place behind a tree as Woodmon laughed and readied himself to attack again, "HEY! Cut it out!" He stared at me, "How did **you** get free? Branch Bash!" He didn't allow me to answer before he attacked Chloe again, who was forcing herself up. Leaping out of the way just in time, she landed on the hard ground. "NO!" I cried as Aaron foolishly ran up and tried to hit the digimon with a shovel, "You can't do that to my friend!" I growled as Woodmon elbowed him in the stomach, sending him sprawling backwards, crying out in pain. I glanced down at my d-tector and held it up. _I hope this works! _"Execute! Spirit Evolution! Lobomon!" Woodmon turned to glare at me as I brought out one of my light-saver-like swords, "Lobo Kendo!" Running forwards, I ducked under his flailing arm, jumped up and slashed at his forehead. When I looked again, I realised that I had only made a small crack in the wood. I sweatdropped and gaped at the digimon, "Impossible!" He threw back his head and began laughing, "Was that a Love Tap?" Arlene, standing up, ran over to me, "Lobomon! Use Howling Laser and aim for the crack!" I nodded, seeing what she was getting at, "Howling Laser!" Woodmon's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in shockhorror as my attack pierced through his thick armour. I lowered my arm, "Obviously, you've been taken over by evil!" He grinned but then gasped as his armour began to fall apart. I raised my d-tector, "Hideous creature! Be purified by the light!" I jumped up as his body began to fall apart, "Farewell, Woodmon! For good!" He screamed in terror as his fractal code appeared and I landed, "Fractal code, digitise!" Woodmon disappeared and the three Mushroomon that had previously attacked me fell to the ground, confused. I stared at them as they began questioning their whereabouts and what had happened. _They obviously weren't evil by choice! _I jumped backwards as a bright circle of data enveloped me and I became my human form, staying suspended in mid-air for a moment before falling to my knees. "Lydia!" I heard Chloe exclaim as Aaron stood up, "Is that all there is to it?" I took a few deep breaths and glanced at my flashing d-tector. Raising one eyebrow, I pressed the flashing button in the middle.

Fractal code rendered.

The area surrounding us became coated with data. When it cleared, the village was completely different. Flowers, plants and trees were growing everywhere, the houses had been restored to their original condition and the large, tree-terminal was covered with green leaves. The white digimon grinned, "Breezy Village's fractal code is returning!" The Floramon cheered in delight as they stared at their newly-restored village. I watched them, pleased that I had made some contribute to their happiness. Chloe and Arlene, who was holding her right shoulder, wincing slightly, walked over to me, "They're all pretty happy because of you." She held out her hand, which I ignored and stood up on my own accord. Arlene grinned, obviously seeing the beginning of World War 3 between us, as Chloe frowned at me, "You know, Lydia. You could try being friendly!" I began walking, glancing behind me slightly as Arlene smiled apologetically at the warrior of wind and followed me. Aaron stared after us, "Arlene! You sure you don't wanna stick with us?" Arlene shook her head as Chloe placed her hands on her hips, "I don't get it. Why do I act friendly to a girl who acts like **that**?" I shrugged as she gaped at me, unsure whether I had heard or not, "I have no idea."

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

"I don't care what that Lydia thinks. We were a great team!" I sighed as I yelled these words at the wind, hoping to relieve some of my anger. "We **have **returned!" I turned around as John and Darren came running into view.  
"Where were you two? You blew it!"  
"Uh, that's quite a story. After a while, we decided you might need us and decided to check back with you."  
"No. You made a wrong turn and missed a once-in-a-lifetime show!" I grinned and placed my hands on my hips. Darren laughed as John ran up behind him, trying to catch his breath, "Yeah right. We know we didn't miss anything. Stop trying to freak us out Chloe!" I continued grinning, "Well, you didn't get to see me spirit evolve!" Darren and John stared at me, "Huh? Wait. You **digivolved**?!" I nodded as they looked at one another and burst out laughing.  
"Yeah right!"  
"Like you could!"  
"You really thought we'd believe that?" They laughed again as I glowered at them. _They are so __**dead**__! _"I've had it with you guys! You run off and then you don't think a girl like me could spirit evolve! If it was Lydia or Arlene you wouldn't have a problem believing it! I'll evolve your heads!" I grabbed them in a headlock and mercilessly strangled them as they called uncle, begging me to stop and Aaron looked sadly at the forest. _I wonder what's wrong with him?_ I thought, slightly worried. I shrugged it off as he turned around and grinned at me. _If it was anything important, he'd tell us. Right? _I became uncertain again as he turned around, a wistful expression on his face. _If he wants to tell me, he will. Other than that, it's his business._

* * *

Hope I'm doing well! Please let me know!


	6. Chapter 5: Aaron's Spark

**Aaron:** Well, last time, Chloe got the spirit of wind. Damn, I wish it were mine.  
**Arlene:** Aaron? That is a sight no one wants to see!  
**Aaron:** I didn't mean it in that way!  
**Me:** Ahem!  
**Aaron:** Oh, yeah. kojiluvr doesn't own digimon. She only owns us, her OC's, and Flasinamon.  
**Me:** Thank you. Finally! A disclaimer without a fight!  
**Arlene:** Are you saying we're incapable of doing this without fighting?!  
**Me:** *groan and anime sweatdrop*

* * *

**Chapter Five  
Aaron's Spark**

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

I sighed as we watched an over-excited Trailmon surge forwards on the tracks above us, before shielding my eyes from the wind that blew sand into our faces. "Hey cool! My ears are full of sand!" Neemon laughed. I anime sweatdropped as the wind slowly began to grow stronger. Bokomon glared at him, "Yes, and your head is full of **rocks**." I sighed again as we began walking with the direction of the wind into a small quarry. John grimaced and clasped his hat in his two hands, "Wow! I haven't been in a wind this strong since… well, ever!" I nodded in agreement, covering my eyes with my arm so that no sand, or at least, very **little** sand, would fly into them. "Whooo! Whooo!" We all looked up and shrieked, running to the side as a Trailmon came along the track we were walking on. Takuya sighed with relief as the Trailmon passed by us, "Phew. That was close. Why do things in the digital world always come out of **nowhere**?" Bokomon crossed his arms and turned away from Darren, "What do you mean 'nowhere'? We're walking along train tracks!"  
"So?"  
"So where there are tracks, there's a train. It's kinda like the whole 'no smoke without a fire' thing!" I sighed as we continued walking towards a large gate with a weather vane perched on top of it. If Bokomon thought he was going to beat Darren in a 'common knowledge' battle, he was wrong. Darren just twisted every little thing to his liking, confusing everyone around him. John gasped in awe as the wind, which seemed to have been coming from a large vent, stopped, "Wow! Awesome!" Bokomon took a few steps forwards, one finger raised, "Welcome to 'Wind Factory Incorporated'!" I grinned. _Wind factory? _That was more to my liking, "Wind Factory Incorporated?" Neemon looked up at the sign above the large, metal gate, "A division of mother nature enterprises!" We watched as several dozen magnet-like digimon marched to and fro about the place, all muttering the same thing, "Hut, two, three, four. Hut, two, three, four." Darren shoved his hands into his pockets and brought out his d-tector, "Hey. Some digimon."

Kokuwamon. A machine digimon. When they feel threatened, they let out a million volt electrical charge. Their special attack is Power Surge.

John laughed as the Kokuwamon at the front of a line fell over, creating a domino effect as each and every Kokuwamon behind him fell over him. Bokomon walked forwards, his 'I've-got-a-million-dollar-idea' look on his face, "Well, if there are that many digimon around, then there must be some food around here **somewhere**!" Darren grinned and began running towards the large gate, "Alright! The let's have us a **feast**!" I groaned and began following him slowly as Aaron ran after him, "Darren! Hold on!" He stopped and held out a hand, as if it was holding him back by 'The Force'. Darren skidded to a halt and turned around, impatient, "Why? What's up?"  
"Listen, Dar, if you're going rushing off to find some food, then would you mind bringing me back a 'to-go' with extra amounts of everything?"  
"**What**?! I'm not the Pizzamon! It's every tummy for itself! Rarf!" I groaned again and facepalmed as he turned around and ran through the gates, "Last one through that gate is a rotten egg! Wahoo!" I gasped and halted as alarms sounded the minute we stepped through the gate. Three, green-and-brown pinecone-like digimon dropped down in front of us, causing Darren to back away, "Warning! Warning! Warning! A warning from Minomon!" Bokomon took out his large book and leafed through the pages as Neemon waved, "Hello there!" The Minomon stared at him, "Are you not listening to me? I said 'Warning! Warning!'" Bokomon closed his eyes and placed his book back into his waistband, "They're larva digimon."  
"Warning! No trespassers allowed in the Wind Factory! No entry! Leave now! Go home!" I rolled my eyes. _This guy's getting annoying!_ "Stop! If you don't obey our warning, we will commence our fierce attack!" Two more Minomon dropped down beside it and began warning us as well as I took a surprised step back, "You have now been warned! Stop! What we're trying to say is GET OUT!" Still, none of us moved and me, not wanting to be the first one to leave, to a step forwards again. Darren then decided to make me look bad by stepping back into Aaron, who grabbed him, a fearful look on his face, "Now would be a really good time to wait in the car, if we had one." I rolled my eyes again and walked up to the Minomon, smiling, "Boys! Excuse me, but we're just here for a tour of the factory." The Minomon first stared at me, unsure, then grouped into a small huddle and began whispering amongst themselves. Aaron stepped up to me, still worried, "Let's make the first tour stop the exit door, okay?" The Minomon broke out of their huddle just as I was deciding whether to elbow him in the stomach or not. They grinned at us and threw their arms into the air, "Then come on down!" I laughed as Aaron anime fell on his side and the Minomon began leading us to the door.

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

I grinned as we rounded a corner and John and I ran over to a large, glass window. The factory, as everyone was describing it to the Minomon, was cool, but we were mainly here for the food. We watched in astonishment as to Kokuwamon were lowered by metal strings to the ground, holding a large box of batteries. Aaron grinned, "This is great! I love watching other people work!" I stared at the two digimon supervising the Kokuwamon. They seemed to be enjoying watching them work too. _I wonder if there's something deeper going on here that we can't see?_ The Kokuwamon seemed to be miserable, especially when the grinning digimon talked to them.

Goblimon. This ogre digimon loves being bad. His special attack is Goblin Strike.

One of the Minomon dropped down by Chloe's shoulder as my d-tector explained this, "Are you enjoying your tour?" Chloe grinned and nodded, "Yeah!"  
"Do you have any questions?"  
"Can we slide on this floor in our socks?" I anime sweatdropped. Sometimes I wondered if Bokomon was right and Neemon really **did** have rocks in his head! The Minomon, looking rather confused, nodded, "If you want. Go ahead!" Suddenly, Aaron tensed, groaning. John looked at the older boy, worried, "Aaron? What's wrong?" Aaron, nervously, looked at Minomon, "I really need to find a bathroom! Like right now!" He began running down the hall Minomon had pointed to with amazing speed as we watched him go. Minomon cupped its tiny hands around its mouth to yell down to him, "It's on the left!"

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I ran down the silver hallway, desperate to get to the bathroom. I looked up, hearing a buzzing noise, "What was that? Oh! Whatever it was, it can wait!" Skidding to a halt outside the men's room, I ran inside into a cubicle as fast as I could, sighing a sigh of relief as I walked out again (I'm not saying what he did in there! That's just wrong! :O). Hearing a scuffling noise, I raised one eyebrow and walked forwards. Just as I was about to peek through the barred door, Darren yelled for me, "Hey, Aaron! Come on! Did you fall in?" I growled in annoyance and turned back to the way I had come, "I'm **coming**!" _If we come by here, I'll check it out later._Ten minutes later, I looked up in astonishment at the giant generator as we walked into the control room. The Minomon beside my shoulder smiled proudly, "This is the backbone of wind factory! It's where all the latest, ultra, high-tech, super machines are made!" John blinked as his eyes widened in awe, "So **cool**!" Bokomon raised his eyebrows, "You call** that **the ultra, high-tech, super machine? Please!" John raised an eyebrow as he saw what was actually being produced, "A fan?" Chloe shuddered, "And an ugly one at that! I mean, grey is so out!" I frowned, not even caring about the fact that I was siding with Chloe for once, "What's so high-tech about a stupid fan?" Minomon glared at me, swinging back and forth, "Hey! It's not like you're much use here!" I pretended that, like everyone else, I wasn't listening to the Minomon, but inside, I was strangling the digimon. _It's true, though_. I realized with a jolt. _I'm the only one without a spirit._ "Now, before we give you some lovely parting gift, are there any questions?" We all nodded, grinned and stepped forwards, "Yeah! Where's the canteen?!"

* * *

**John's POV;**

We anime sweatdropped as we stared at the so-called 'food' on the trays in front of us. Chloe, trying to be polite, smiled, "So… what do you call this?" Neemon put up his hand as I would if I wanted to answer a question in school, "A nine volt omlette?" Minomon slowly dropped down in front of us, "Eat up, everybody!" Chloe picked up one of the batteries as I stared at my plate in dismay, "They're really lovely batteries, but-" The Minomon cut her off, moving to her shoulder, "Oh, you'll love them! They're our canteen's special! Just look at the Kokuwamon!" We all looked over at the Kokuwamon… eating… at the table opposite ours. He was holding a large battery and, as we watched, two cables were ejected from either side of his neck and latched themselves onto the battery, draining its power. We anime sweatdropped again as more Kokuwamon filled the room and began going through the exact same procedure. "Take care to leave room for dessert!" The Minomon said, grinning cheerfully. Aaron and Darren picked up a battery off their plates and, in unison, spoke, "We can't eat these!" As I pushed my plate a few inches away. I leaned in towards Minomon, glancing sideways, "Hey, don't you have any sugary treats lying around for, you know, special guests?" Minomon looked at me thoughtfully before grinning again, "How about a double-volt pie!" I groaned and anime fell backwards, "No thanks."

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I sighed as we walked towards the large gate. "I'm worried we might have offended the Minomon!" Chloe said, looking back at the factory. _Geez, ya think? They only kicked us out of the factory! _Darren stretched and shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket, "More than lunch offended us?!" I stopped and stared at a discarded battery in front of us, "Can we get back to worrying about my stomach?" Darren, angrily, kicked the battery towards a large pile of, what looked like, mud, "Stupid batteries!" It landed on the train track, making two Goblimon turn and glare at us. Darren laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. Suddenly, Chloe moved slightly to the right and pointed towards a building, "Hey! What's that?" Bokomon followed her finger and looked at the point she was pointing to and hummed thoughtfully, "It looks like a village with a fence around it to point out the obvious answer." Darren grinned and began walking towards it, "Well, let's check it out!" We ran over to the village and immediately spotted a group of disheveled-looking Kokuwamon. One with a moustache, probably the elder, walked forwards to greet us. Darren looked around, "So this-"  
"Is where the Kokuwamon live!" Chloe cut him off, also looking around. Neemon smiled his usual, oblivious smile, "At least they're out in the sunshine!" Bokomon frowned and snapped the waistband of his red pants, "Yes, well, they can sweat and rust." I looked down as a small group of Kokuwamon kids wandered up to us. One in the middle bravely stepped forwards, "You're kinda funny-looking!" I anime sweatdropped. _Says the kid who eats batteries for breakfast._ We smiled politely and followed the elder into his air-conditioned house where he began explaining their situation, "Well, once there was there and now there is here. Which is why we need your help." Chloe cocked her head as we all stared at him in confusion, "If I said that made any sense, I'd be lying." John nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I'm lost too." A younger Kokuwamon walked forward, an apologetic expression on his face, "Sorry. The elders charge is a little low these days. Perhaps our story will make more sense if we begin at the beginning. We Kokuwamon lived peacefully in the forest for generations. We played among the trees and had games of electric tag! Until one day, without warning, the Goblimon attacked. The wind at the Wind Factory had gotten weaker and the energy for the energy generator had gotten low. So their leader had them round us up! They took us all from our beautiful, woodland home and put us to work in the factory." The elder looked up at us as we gaped in shock, "Yeah. Like that." John crossed his arms, "Wow. That just blows." Chloe nodded, sitting up straighter, "Yeah, and everything seemed so **normal** when we toured the factory!" I turned to look at Darren, "I had a feeling something was wrong. My gut told me." Darren groaned in exasperation, "Great. Even your stomach's a know-it-all. But how come they needed your labor in such a modern factory?" The Kokuwamon looked down at the ground, "Our labor is like a bonus for the Goblimon. It is not the main reason they keep us. You must understand, they would not let you outsiders see what really goes on there We Kokuwamon are a timid and cowardly breed by nature, but when we get frightened, we emit electrical currents of one million volts, so they scare us constantly. Sometimes they even pour water on us to shut us down or even worse, they threaten to hang us upside down so the charge rushes to our heads. And if that doesn't work, they show us pictures of peoples feet. Then they use the electricity we generate to run the factory. I've been so jumpy these days, it feels like there's a kangaroo in my pants!" I frowned at the floor, "So that was the noise I heard when I came out of the bathroom!" The elder muttered something impossible to understand as the Kokuwamon stepped forwards again, "We're in the factory every day. It really isn't fun for us at all! Low pay, hard work and no vacations!" Once again, the elder looked up at us and muttered something I couldn't hear in the slightest. John looked up at them, confused, "Why don't you just leave?" I nodded in agreement, "Yeah. When the going gets really tough, the smart ones take off."  
"Are you **out of your mind**?!" I jumped and stared at the glaring Darren. He clenched his fist and moved closer, "If they leave, then the Goblimon will track them down and smash them all into little pieces!" I glared at him and shoved him away, "Let me guess, Dar! You've got some great idea that they should band together and fight back!" We both growled at one another as the Kokuwamon stepped backwards, "We're not really fighters and as for running away, we can't because the Goblimon's security is just too tight!" I growled as Darren glared at me again before turning to the Kokuwamon, "Well, it seems like those are your only two options." They looked at each other, uncertain what to do, "I suppose, if we had to choose, we'd prefer the 'running' option." I gave Darren an '_I told you so_' look before turning my back on the younger boy. He ignored me and continued talking to the Kokuwamon, "If you run now, you'll never stop running, but if you fight them, you could be free forever! You won't have to do it alone! We'll help you beat them!" I growled as the kid who had approached us earlier looked up, intrigued. I shoved Darren against the wall, a firm hand on his shoulder, "Hey! Who died and made you 'decision guy', anyway? What if we don't wanna be a part of this fight, huh?"  
"I'm in!"  
"Yeah! When do we start?" I gasped in shock, releasing Darren as Chloe and John joined in. Bokomon and Neemon grinned, happy to be a part of it as well, "Excellent!" I turned my back on my friends as the Kokuwamon, starting with the kid, slowly stood up, adding their agreement, "Right! Let's do it!"  
"This could be the most important moment of our lives!"  
"However short they may be!"  
I gasped in shock as even the elder stood up. Darren grinned widely, "Wow! Something tells me those Goblimon are gonna get the shock of their lives!" I slowly began to walk away as Chloe asked if everyone was ready. _Ready to get ourselves __**killed**__!_

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

"Okay everyone, listen up! We're going to do this tonight! Chloe will cause a distraction right here. She's gonna try and get as many Goblimon as possible over to the gate. That is, if you think you can handle it." I looked over at Chloe as I explained my 'master plan'. She nodded, "No sweat!" I turned back to the small plan of the factory I had drawn, "Then the rest of us will move into the factory and wait for the right moment to attack. Then, when the signal comes, we all hit the same target. Destroy the assembly line and that's it! So, whaddya say? Are ya with me?" The Kokuwamon nodded, "Affirmative!" I grinned and pulled the hood of my hoodie over my head, "Great! This is good teamwork guys, and a great plan!" I slammed my fist down on the small table, "Just like the ones I used to draw up for my army men. Except this time it's for real! Pretty cool, huh?" I laughed as Chloe anime stared at me, "Yeah! Pretty cool for you, Darren!" I whipped around to face her, my hood flying off my head, "What's that supposed to mean?" John grinned and stepped towards me, taking my mind off Chloe's snide comment, "I get it! So, if there's no place for them to work, I guess they'll just have to go home again!" I mentally laughed at the younger boy's innocence, but hid my amusement to spare his feelings, "It's not quite that simple, John. We'll still have the Goblimon leader to take care of!" I groaned as Aaron stepped out from the wall he was leaning against and turned away, "I'm not going!" Everyone, bar myself of course, gasped in amazement. Aaron stretched, his hands behind his head, "Why don't you guys take care of this one and just holler if you need me!" _Now that. __**That**__ ticks me off!_ "What are you saying, Aaron?"  
"I'm saying you guys are on your own! You don't need me! You probably don't even **want **me! I can't become a digimon like you guys! I'm just tall, sweet and cuddly."  
_Are those… __**tears**__ in his eyes?_ "Man, I will never understand what your problem is!"  
"My **problem**, Dar, is you! Trying to make me do what I don't want to!"  
"Oh, yeah?" We held a small glaring match with one another before Bokomon broke us up, "You two loudmouths are going to make the Kokuwamon cry!" The Kokuwamon who had explained their situation to us stepped forwards, "We understand what Aaron is going through. You see, before we met you, we never even dreamed of fighting back! But you have given us hope! And that is something we haven't had in a long time. You have shown us how strong we can really be if we just believe in ourselves! We believe!" I stared at them in excitement and shock, "You do?" I watched as Aaron walked over to a wall, muttering to himself. _I wish __**he'd **__believe in himself!_

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I groaned as I walked over to a wall and placed my hands on it to support my weight, "Believe in yourself. Yeah right! If only it were that easy!" I looked down as the kid Kokuwamon walked over to me and looked at me sadly. A few minutes later, I walked back out into the courtyard and stood there, watching the sunset. _Why didn't I take that stupid train anyway? I can't do anything right in the digital world. _"Excuse me, sir?" I looked down and spotted the kid Kokuwamon again. _Why does this guy keep following me?_ "Can we really go back to the forest tomorrow?" The kids eyes were full of hope and happiness. Was I about to crush his spirit? I crouched down next to him as he continued, "I miss the trees." I smiled sadly, "Don't worry. We'll get you back home!" He laughed and grabbed my hand with his small, metallic one, "Gee! Thanks, mister!" My grin quickly faded as the sun set and the sky grew dark. _It's time._

* * *

**John's POV;**

"Alright! It's go time!" I couldn't suppress a slight shiver of excitement and anticipation as Darren whispered these words to the waiting Kokuwamon who nodded in reply. He then turned to Chloe, Bokomon, Neemon and I, "Are we ready?" I nodded and punched the air with my fist as I followed Darren, "READY!" We all grabbed our d-tectors, remembering the first time we digivolved, "Execute! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Agunimon!"  
"Kazemon!"  
"Kumamon!"  
I grinned in anticipation as Kazemon smashed down the large gate and the alarms rang, signaling the entrance of the Minomon, "Warning! Warning!" She stepped forwards and waved her hand at them, trying to bat them away, "Get lost, you mouthy pinecones!" They all, screaming, ran back to their posts as Kazemon jumped up, "Hurricane Wind!" Her attack, as planned, destroyed the sounding sirens, creating clouds of smoke and small flames to appear just over the gate, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" She giggled as a small hoard of Goblimon rushed towards her, signaling our entrance. I followed Agunimon as he ran towards the unguarded doorway into the factory courtyard. Behind us, Bokomon, Neemon and the Kokuwamon were trying to keep up with us, but we didn't slow down. If they realized that this was an ambush, it would all be over.

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I sighed as I led the small group of Kokuwamon who were either too old or too young to fight up the small hill, away from the factory. Glancing back, I sighed as I watched Kazemon attack the Goblimon that were surrounding her. _I want to help! But what good am I? Everyone gets to spirit evolve but me! It's so unfair! _I thought, clenching my fists and glaring furiously at the ground.

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

"Power Surge!" I watched in delight as the Kokuwamon electrocuted the attacking Goblimon, causing them to collapse on the hard, metal floor. Taking one each, the Kokuwamon shoved the Goblimon through the glass windows and onto the tables beyond before destroying the fans of which the creation they had all been labored for. I grinned as Kumamon, sucking in a deep breath of air, froze the watching Goblimon solid, "Crystal Freeze!" I grinned at him as we began running down the next passage, "Nice work, Kumamon!" I groaned as Neemon followed Bokomon who was following me, "He made Goblimon-pops!"  
"Wait up!" Kumamon cried, running after us. We stopped in front of a large, locked door and waited for Kumamon and the straggling Kokuwamon to catch up to us before turning to the leading Kokuwamon in our group. He moved forwards, arms outstretched, "This should get us through the door!" I ran forwards as the door slowly rose up, "Next stop; the assembly line!" We gasped in shockhorror as the lights flashed on revealing about a ten dozen Goblimon surrounding us. Bokomon took an involuntary step backwards, "I don't like the looks of this!" We looked up, hearing an evil (for nothing else other than lack of another word) snicker, to see a large, green, bug-like digimon being lowered to the ground by a lever.

Snimon. This praying mantice digimon has blades for hands. His special attack is Twin Sickles.

"Well! Look what we have here! You destroyed part of my factory, so I'll destroy **you**!" He cried, jumping down from his lever-seat. I gasped as he lunged at me, his sharp blade missing me by less than an inch, "Oh boy!"

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

_Here I am. Where it's safe. Ugh! Talk about useless! Darren's got the fire power of Agunimon, Chloe's flying around like she's queen of the sky, even John's got the power to turn anything he wants into a frozen dinner! All I have is a constant craving for chocolate. Well, let them fight with Kokuwamon. _I looked up at the now-smoking factory, "It's not like I care or anything. 'Cause I don't."  
"You can't! You're too small!" I looked down as the elder Kokuwamon grabbed the kid that I had become firm friends with. He struggled against the elder's grip, "Only on the outside! Remember what Darren said? I believe in myself! I do!"  
"Yes, but you must also believe in others to fight when you can't." I took a step towards the arguing digimon, a determined look on my face, "He can't, but I can!" The kid looked up at me as I crouched down to his size, "Mister?" I nodded and then ran down the hill towards the factory as he punched the air with his fist, "You can do it!" I growled as Kazemon winced and stepped backwards, trying to avoid the rocks being hurled at her by the Goblimon. I gasped as she began flying back in my direction. _Is she actually __**retreating**__? _I ignored her, for once, and ran behind the cheering Goblimon. _Hang on, guys! Here come reinforcements!_

* * *

**John's POV;**

My feet pounded on the metal floor as I desperately tried to outrun the Goblimon behind me. "Power Surge!" Luckily, I tripped and fell and the attack hit the Goblimon. I stood up as a bead of sweat slowly trickled down my forehead. If I hadn't fallen, the attack could have hit me! I grinned in thanks at the Kokuwamon as he moved off to help Neemon and Bokomon and Agunimon attacked Snimon using Pyro Darts. _We're losing!_

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I gasped for breath as I ran after the Kokuwamon who was telling me that my friends were at the end of the hallway, "I've gotta get into shape!" I gasped as I entered the room, seeing Agunimon save himself by the skin of his teeth by throwing a digimon my d-tector called Snimon over the small barrier. As he begun to attack again, Snimon flew up into the air, "Twin Sickles!" Agunimon cried out in pain as two red, sickle-shaped lines of energy hit him in the chest, causing him to be sent sprawling into a wall. Snimon laughed evilly, moving slightly closer to the weakened Agunimon, "Now, I shall destroy all your little friends, one by one!" I gasped as a Kokuwamon flew over to me, "Isn't there any way to stop him?" I looked determinedly around, "How about giving me a lift. That it, guys! Just a little higher!" Snimon laughed again as the three Kokuwamon lifted me to the crane's control booth. Reaching the door, I leapt inside and immediately swung the whole thing around so that it knocked a surprised Snimon out of the air. I grinned as he slammed into a wall and stayed there due to the fact that his blade-hands were imbedded in the metal. "Wow! Aaron!" Kumamon yelled, smiling at me. I grinned back at him and gave him a thumbs up. Agunimon ran over to the rail, "Quick thinking, buddy." He looked around and gasped as Snimon finally succeeded in freeing himself from the wall and used his Twin Sickle attack, aiming it at me! "Aaron!" I heard Agunimon cry as the attacks hit home and the crane began to fall towards the ground. I cried out in shock as I fell out of the control room and hit the ground as the crane fell into the generator, smashing the wall. I stood up shakily and gasped, seeing a blue, wooden totem-like figure surrounded by a pillar of light. I vaguely heard Bokomon telling us that the metal must have stopped the d-tectors from detecting it, but I ignored him and stared at the spirit, "This time, that spirit's gotta be mine!" I grabbed my d-tector and pointed it at it, a determined look creeping into both my eyes and face, "SPIRIT!" The light surrounding it disappeared as my d-tector sucked it in (I only said that because I couldn't think of a better word).

It is time.

* * *

**Normal POV;**

Agunimon and Kumamon stood watching Aaron, grinning idiotically as a ring of data surrounded his hand and he slammed it into his d-tector, "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His body grew bulkier as blue-and-yellow armor covered it, giving him a bug-like look, especially when a pair of wings appeared on his back. A blue-and-yellow helmet covered his face but his big, now-blue eyes were still visible. He punched his fists together, creating a slight, electrical charge as he yelled out his name, "Beetlemon!"

* * *

**Aaron's POV;**

I grinned, ecstatic over the fact that I had finally earned my spirit. Agunimon gaped at me, "Look! Aaron spirit evolved!" Bokomon walked up beside him, his pointed nose in his large book, "Yes! To Beetlemon, the warrior of thunder!" I grinned again, "I-I-I can't believe it! I'm Beetlemon!" I began dancing around, my way of showing how happy I am, "I can't believe it! I did it! Let's get this party **started**! Wahoo!"  
"Dance while you can, monkey boy. Soon, you will taste the fury of Snimon!" _Damn it! Forgot about him. _"The only thing I wanna taste is a cheeseburger with a side of fries!" Hunger was seriously getting to me. We growled at one another and lunged, attacking with outstretched arms. I shoved him away from me as he tried to slice me, using his arms. Turning around and growling again, he, once again, lunged at me. I ran forwards and shoved him in the stomach, not even flinching as he brought his arms down on my hard armor. The blades didn't even dent the blue shoulder armor. I propelled forwards, taking him with me, and I slammed him into the hard wall. I growled as I did a small victory dance, "Cool Beetlemon; One. Lame Green Guy; Nothing! Wahoo!" He flew rapidly towards me and, just as he was about to attack, I jumped up, "Missed me!" He skidded to a halt and turned angrily to face me, "Multiple Twin Sickles!" I stood my ground and took the hit, which didn't even faze me, "Oh yeah? I call forth the power of Thunder Fist!" I slammed my fists as hard as I could onto the digimon's head as he flew up to try and attack me again. The attack coursed through him and sent him flying (no pun intended) into a wall. I walked forwards, d-tector in hand, "Where once your power was used for evil, let it now be used for good! Fractal code, digitize!" I grinned as the digimon's fractal code was absorbed by my d-tector and he turned into a digi-egg. The Kokuwamon were now free! Suddenly, the generator began collapsing and I heard Agunimon exclaim, "The factory's gonna blow! We need to get outa here!" Less than one minute after we emerged, the factory went up in flames, much to the delight of the Kokuwamon. _I did it. _I thought as I de-digivolved. _I earned my spirit._

* * *

**John's POV;**

The next morning, we all gathered outside the ruined factory again with the cheering Kokuwamon. Aaron smiled down at the kid who had practically attached itself to his side since he had emerged the night before, "You can all go home now." The kid grinned adoringly up at him, "I was right to believe in you." Suddenly, the Minomon ruined the perfect moment by dropping down from, well, nowhere in particular, "Warning! Warning! We're getting carried away here!" I suddenly realized that a strong gust of wind was blowing them up into the air and grinned. _That's the end of them!_

* * *

**Aaron:** Well, now we all have our spirits!  
**Me:** Yep! Took long enough, didn't it?  
**Aaron:** *nods* Yeah! I can't wait for the next battle!


	7. 6: Would you Like Grumblemon With That?

**Me:** I don't own digimon. I'm giving the characters a break until the ending commentary, so sorry! And thanks to everyone who reviewed!

* * *

**Chapter Six  
Would You Like Grumblemon With That?**

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I groaned as Arlene and I came to a large mountain that, other than the option of climbing it, was uncrossable. Arlene walked up silently behind me, looked up at the large mountain and put on her best game-show voice, "Now, Lydia O'Dwyer. You have two options; scale the giant mountain or turn back and relinquish the cash prize!" I rolled my eyes and walked towards the Trailmon tracks that seemed to lead up the mountain. I heard her sigh slightly behind me, "What? No discussion with your team mates?" She then followed me as I began climbing, using the tracks as a ladder, praying that no Trailmon would come, or at least until we found a safe foothold. But eventually, one did. Luckily for us, there was a small ledge beside us which we jumped onto as the Trailmon passed by us. I let out a loud sigh of relief, which quickly turned to one of annoyance as I soon realized that the ledge wasn't even large enough to hold my whole shoe. I groaned as we inched slowly along the edge, careful not to move to suddenly. Stopping to rest for a moment, I closed my eyes and sighed as a series of voices cried out from above us.  
"Help!"  
"Get us out of here!"  
"No one can hear us!"  
"You're so negative!"  
"I'm so sick of this place!"  
I growled as the voices quieted and I spotted a small ridge just above me with, what seemed like, a large cave. "You wait here and I'll help you up." Arlene said, quickly jumping up to the ridge and reaching down to grab my hand. I ignored her offer of help and, digging my knee into a small burrow, I pushed myself upper body up to where she was growling impatiently and dragged my legs up behind me. Standing up, I looked at the back of the cave where a large cage was containing several green, snail-like digimon women, "Hello?" They looked up, their downcast eyes quickly becoming hope-filled as they saw Arlene and I.  
"Heroes!"  
"Quickly! You must release us!"  
"Sh! You'll scare 'em off! Don't be so **pushy**!"  
"I'm not staying in here a second more then I can help!"  
"Release us! Release us!"  
I walked forwards as they yelled at us and pulled on the thick lock, testing its strength. Arlene, mistaking my intentions, rolled her eyes and passed me a large, formidable rock, "Lydia, I know you put a lot of faith into your strength and karate, or whatever it is you trained in, abilities, but seriously. Let's be sensible." I nodded and took the rock, bringing it down as hard as I possibly could on the lock. Suddenly, the digimon screamed and I looked behind me to see two glowing eyes. A pair of hands reached out for Arlene and I and the dark figure grabbed us both by the back of our jackets, sniffing us as we struggled against his grip, "What? Humans? No matter. Me just get rid you." I screamed in terror as he threw both of us out of the cave. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the painful moment when I would hit the ground, but it never came. Instead, we fell into a large pile of hay about halfway down the mountain. I lay there, struggling to stay conscious as I heard a male voice saying, "Well! We finish and the universe throws some humans into the works!" I closed my eyes, blacking out as a group of digimon pulled us out of the hay.

* * *

**John's POV;**

"WHAT?! NO MONEY?!" I screamed as the owner of the restaurant we had entered five minutes ago threw us out onto the streets. I gasped as I landed on Chloe who took the brunt of the fall for me. I stood up, glad I was not in Darren's place due to the fact that the digimon had thrown Aaron onto him. "Please come back. When you're not just a bunch of **deadbeats**!" The large, yellow digimon yelled at us, wok in hand. Chloe stood up and walked towards him, coins in hand, "But we're really hungry and we **do** have money! See! Right here!" The digimon looked down at the money and slammed the door shut in her face, making her groan in frustration as Bokomon ran towards her, "You have money? Let me see it." She lowered her hand so that the smaller digimon could take the money. He looked at it, his eyebrows furrowing into a frown, "You call this stuff **money**? Quite frankly, I would have thrown you out of that restaurant myself." He threw the money onto the streets as an angry and grumpy Chloe leaned over and quickly picked up the last of her pocket money. Aaron groaned and turned to Bokomon, "So what's money like in the digital world? If you're so smart, how do we get our hands on some, huh?" Bokomon closed his eyes with an infuriating smile on his face, "It's simple. Stop being so lazy and go to work!" I facepalmed at his stupid suggestion. _Doesn't he know we're too young to work?! _Darren clenched his fists and glared at the creamy-colored digimon, "You want us kids to **work**?! That's what pocket money is for!" I looked at him simply, my arms hanging down by my sides, "Can't you just lend us some?" Aaron and Darren nodded in agreement and held out their cupped hands, "Yeah! Hand it over!" I grinned as Bokomon, cheerfully, pulled a green purse out of his waistband. Chloe clapped her hands together, as if already imagining the amount of food we would buy, "Alright! Big bucks!" He emptied everything that was in the purse onto the street, which left us with three breadcrumbs and a piece of lint. I animefell backwards as he replaced the purse, "As you can see, I am without funds as well. Now, come on you nincompoops. Follow me." He and Neemon glanced back as everyone, bar me because I was already on the ground, sat down, stomachs grumbling louder than Snimon.  
"We're still hungry!"  
"Yeah, we gotta eat **something**!"  
"ANYTHING!"  
I looked at Aaron as he froze, leaving what he was about to say unuttered as he stared at a sign just behind Bokomon and Neemon, "Hey, you guys. Take a look at that!" We all looked at the sign and read it, smiles quickly replacing the depressed frowns as we realized what it said. Darren leaped up, "Heroes wanted, all your meals for free?! Sweet! I'm brave enough to eat!" We all sprinted over to the sign and into the alley beyond as three, green, snail-like digimon looked at us sadly. "Hey there!" Darren cried before he saw the digimon's faces. "We're… heroes?" They smiled widely at us and dragged us to the outskirts of the city where they told us to wait in a small, metal kart.

* * *

**Arlene's POV;**

I groaned as I opened my eyes and looked around. As far as I could tell, I was lying on a small, wooden deck beside the pile of hay that had saved Lydia and I. Sitting up, I noticed a small, green digimon, rather like the ones we had seen in the cage, watching me warily from a safe distance. I smiled at it, "Hello. Are you the one who saved us?" He shook his head, blushing slightly, "No, our elder was the one who pulled you out." I nodded and stood up, "Do you know where my friend is? The girl who fell down with me?" The digimon growled, "If you mean the one who accused me of pushing you off the cliff, then yeah. She's in that house over there." He pointed to a small house attached to the side of the wall a little ways up the cliff. There was a small rope ladder leading up to it, which was what I assumed Lydia had used to get in there in the first place. Grinning in thanks at the digimon, I climbed the ladder and walked into the house, blocking the broom handle that Lydia had swung at me with one hand, "You know, falling off a cliff once was enough for my liking." She nodded apologetically and leaned against the… floor? Wall? I wasn't sure what to call it due to the fact that the house was on its side. "Sorry about that. Apparently, the KaratsukiNumemon have sent for help to save their women. I just wanted to test these so called 'heroes' to see if they were agile, like you were just there," She said. I laughed, doubling over as I jumped down from the doorway, landing next to her, "You might want to lose the broom head. You just looked absolutely ridiculous pointing it at me." She grunted slightly in indignation, but pulled the head off of the broom stick as voices outside came to my ears.

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

"There's the Trailmon." I said, peeking out from the bush we were in. Aaron and Chloe stuck their heads out beside me,  
"Duh!"  
"Shouldn't we hide?"  
We ducked back into the bush and sat down on the kart as the Trailmon passed by us, "I just wish we knew what these guys wanted us to do."  
"Relax! I'm sure they have a good plan." Chloe said, screaming a second later as the kart was wrenched out of the bush and we realized that the KaratsukiNumemon had secured it to the Trailmon. I anime sweatdropped as they crept along the rope towards the kart, "I hope all their plans aren't as crazy as this one!" They climbed into the kart as the tunnel we were in ended and began to explain, "One day, a mean creature called Grumblemon attacked. We're peaceful digimon. We can't fight him by ourselves. He demanded our mountains fractal code, but we told him we don't even know where it is. But he thinks we're lying, and that's why we need you heroes!" I frowned as the tunnel finally **did **come to an end and the Trailmon sped out of it, complaining about the sun, "Don't worry. We'll take care of him. Right guys?" I groaned as Chloe raised one eyebrow, "I'm not sure I understand this. Why can't he just **take **the fractal code?" Bokomon went into a several minute rant about how everything in the digital world was made up of the fractal code as I looked around the barren wasteland. Finally, the KaratsukiNumemon continued with their story, "I'm afraid there's more of our story to tell. Grumblemon took all of our womon to trade for the mountains fractal code." John and Chloe glared at nothing in particular, clenching their fists.  
"That's horrible!"  
"Man, guys can sure be jerks sometimes. So that's why you wanted our help? To save your women?"  
The KaratsukiNumemon nodded sadly, "Yes." I leaned towards them and crossed my arms, "Just leave everything to us." They bowed their heads as I looked out of the kart again, "We are in your debt, heroes." As Aaron began asking about the food, I gasped in horror, "Hold on! You're expecting us to ride through that?! In **this**?! Are you **CRAZY**?!" Everyone looked ahead, at first in confusion, then in the same horror as I did when they saw what I did. After a series of sharp turns were a series of loop-de-loops and just after that, the train tracks seemed to continue up the large mountain in front of us. We screamed and clung onto the kart, or in my case, one of the KaratsukiNumemon as we began weaving through the turns. "AT LEAST THE MOUNTAIN AHEAD SHOULD SLOW US DOWN!" I cried above the noise of the screaming, although, to be honest, I had no idea why the KaratsukiNumemon were screaming. They could cling to walls! What were they worried about? John gasped at a sudden realization, "We're not slowing down! We're speeding up!" We all screamed our heads off as he Trailmon began to climb the mountain, leaving us hanging dangerously out of the kart. "How is this thing on the tracks?!" I cried. The KaratsukiNumemon I was holding onto was the only one not screaming, "Actually, I don't think it is." We all screamed even louder as the kart **did **come off of the tracks and we crashed into a small fence. "Well, that wasn't so bad." Chloe said as she clasped onto the fence. Aaron stared at her in a 'WTF' sort of way, "What's your definition of **bad**?"  
"Falling off of this cliff!"  
"Cliff?!"  
We all opened our eyes and looked down, realizing that the fence was actually on its side, driven into the side of the cliff. We were still hundreds of feet from the ground! We sat up, clasping a pole with our legs to keep us steady as the Numemon slid up to a large, round pile of, what looked like, wooden sticks, "Come on, heroes! What are you all waiting for?" Aaron's jaw dropped as he stared up at them, "Are you kidding me?! Sticking to a wall may be fine for you guys, but one slip and we're gravel pancakes!" We all looked down and clasped the fence tighter as we saw the distance between us and the ground. "Just how do you propose we get up to you? We can't cling to walls!" Chloe called up. The KaratsukiNumemon undid two strings around the wood-pile and a long, wooden ladder fell down next to us. "Climb up, you guys! It's fun!" They called down to us. Aaron groaned as we all carefully stood up, "Oh, I'm learning a bunch of new definitions!" I looked up at them, nodded in thanks and began climbing, soon followed by John, Aaron, Bokomon, Neemon and Chloe, in that order. The KaratsukiNumemon were waiting by a small, brick house and nodded to me as I reached the corner of it, "You're almost there!" I grinned, already imagining the amount of food I was going to eat, "That's great!" I heard John quietly exclaim in surprise and call me, telling me to wait, but I climbed up to the door and poked my head in anyway, "Yes!" Suddenly, I felt something pound down on my head and I turned towards the far corner, "You're here?" Lydia was holding a long, wooden stick that looked like it might have been a broom at one point and Arlene was standing beside her, eyes closed and leaning against the wall. Lydia drew the stick back towards her, a look of surprise etched on her face, "**You're **the people these guys found to help out?!" Everyone climbed up into the doorframe next to me, wondering why I wasn't inside already. Aaron gasped, "Lydia, Arlene." I nodded and laughed awkwardly, "Yeah. None of us could find any food either." Arlene opened her eyes and glared at us, "You mean to say, that you only came because you couldn't find any food?!" I nodded, "Isn't that why you're here?" She glared at me again as Lydia pointed the stick at me, "We're here to help the KaratsukiNumemon!"  
"Hey! Don't lump us in with you guys!" Lydia turned to the KaratsukiNumemon beside her, "These kids aren't gonna be able to help you out at all!"  
"I'll help you right upside the head, even if you **are** a girl!" I yelled, my fist clenched. "At least give us a chance!" John pleaded, turning on his puppy-dog eyes that would usually melt anyone's heart. I could see Arlene slightly wavering, but Lydia's face was still cold, "Thanks, but **no **thanks. I mean, look at you! The only thing you guys would do is get in our way! Can we help it if you're not up to **our **level?" I saw Arlene nudge her slightly, "I seem to recall that I'm on a higher level than you are." I laughed slightly as Lydia glared at her. She turned her glare to me and leaned up against the wall, "I'd watch it if I were you. You're in a very precarious situation there. I'm holding a stick, you're in the door frame, hanging off of a cliff, several hundred feet up. I wonder if Agunimon can fly?" I growled and clenched my fist, "Watch it, stick girl, or I'll-"  
"Ladies and gentlemen, please!" I was cut off as a KaratsukiNumemon with a small moustache walked into the room. I assumed that, like the Kokuwamon with the moustache, he was the elder. "My thanks to all of you for coming to help! Now, it's time to eat!" I grinned and punched the air with my fist, causing me to dislodge myself and everyone behind me as we fell towards Lydia and Arlene. Lydia pushed herself against the wall so as not to be squished, one leg pointing towards the KaratsukiNumemon, one pulled up into her chest, where as Arlene jumped over us and landed neatly in the door frame. How she managed to stay standing will forever be a mystery to me. "Well, at least we'll get some good food to make us feel better!" Aaron pointed out as we landed. I nodded in agreement as I stood up. _Finally! Something to eat!_

* * *

**Arlene's POV;**

I stared at the food the KaratsukiNumemon had served us. It looked a lot like cabbage but was different colours. _Red, brown, creamy, pink, yellow and green._ I sighed and grabbed a few for Lydia and I to share as the KaratsukiNumemon explained to the others how we had gotten there. I handed Lydia a few and she grunted in thanks as Chloe took a bite, saying her cabbage tasted just like steak. I looked over at the group, wishing I could eat with them, but Lydia was eating in a corner by herself and I couldn't just abandon her. She looked up at me and growled as she saw me looking at Chloe, "Go on." I raised one eyebrow, "What do you mean?"  
"Go eat with them."  
"What makes you think that I-"  
"Just **go**!"  
I sighed, nodded and walked over to them, three 'cabbages' in hand, "Mind if I eat with you?" Chloe nodded and pulled me down next to her as I and the boys took bites of the 'cabbages'. I grinned, "Mmm! Pork ribs!"  
"Mine tastes like chicken!" Aaron said, taking another bite.  
"Mine's like a potato!" Cried John, grinning at me.  
"Mine just tastes like asparagus!" Darren said, grinning. I raised one eyebrow, "That's a good thing?" He nodded, still grinning, as he took another bite, "Yep! I love asparagus!" I shrugged and took another bite of my 'pork rib'. I had to hand it to him. I didn't know many kids brave enough to say they actually liked a vegetable. I looked sadly over at Lydia as she took a bite of one of the 'cabbage's I had brought her. She could be so unsociable when other people were around. Suddenly, another KaratsukiNumemon walked in with a boy behind him, "Elder, another human." The boy grinned and walked over to us. He had long, brown hair that reached his shoulder blades which he kept tied up in a ponytail. His tanned skin was slightly bruised as if he had fallen from a great height, but his dark eyes were cheerful and light. He was wearing a mixed blue, checked shirt open with a white t-shirt with a pair of headphones printed on it underneath it. His brown, Capri pants reached the top of his black school-shoes and looked like he had them for a few years. He grinned again and held out his hand, "Hi. My name's Harry. Harry O'Connor." I grinned and shook his hand, a tingling feeling flowing down my spine, "I'm Arlene McCarthy. This is Darren Hughes, Chloe Sheehan and John Collins." He nodded at each of my 'cabbage' eating friends in turn and then looked at Lydia who had glanced at him, but otherwise ignored him, "And you are?" His tone and smile was polite, but for some reason, it aggravated Lydia. She glared at him and took another bite of the 'cabbage', "None of your business." I rolled my eyes and smiled at Harry, who looked a tiny bit hurt, "She's Lydia O'Dwyer. And don't mind her. She's like that with almost everyone." He nodded and sat down next to us as I handed him a 'cabbage'. He looked at me oddly, but nonetheless, took a bite of it and grinned, "Delicious! Tastes just like spaghetti bolognese!" I nodded and took another bite of my 'pork', "So, Harry. How'd **you** end up here?" He grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck, "Would you believe I was thrown out of a cave by an angry gnome?"I grinned and nodded, "I wondered why he was so short. Anyway, that's how Lydia and I got here. These guys came 'cause they had no lunch money." Harry snickered quietly, hiding his smile as Darren glared at me.

* * *

**Harry's POV;**

"Grumblemon has the captives in a cave. It's right about… here!" Lydia said, pointing to a certain spot on the small map of the mountain he KaratsukiNumemon had supplied us with as I watched from a small distance away. "We'll have to get in and out quickly." Aaron grinned and sat up straight when he noticed the KaratsukiNumemon shivering nervously, "Just relax." They visibly calmed down, but tensed at Aaron's next words, "Have no fear! Leave everything to us legendary warriors!" The KaratsukiNumemon gasped and quickly backed into a small corner, their eyes wider than saucers. The elder stared at us in terror, "You mean all of you are legendary warriors?!" Darren grinned and punched the air with his fist, "Yeah! In the flesh! Well, actually, I'm not sure about him, but the rest of us are!" He pointed to me as he said 'him'. They all formed a large huddle and started whispering furiously as we all watched them, worriedly. "What got them so worked up?" Tommy asked innocently as Bokomon turned to face him, "Believe me. I'd have problems believing you were legendary warriors too." Aaron smiled cheerily and put one finger in the air, "I bet they're in awe of us!" I looked up as I heard a cough and realized the KaratsukiNumemon had finished talking and were facing us, "It's time to go to bed!" _Okay. Something very fishy is going on around here. _"And I say it's time for us to rescue the girls!" Darren cried, standing up.  
"Uh, no, no! Get some rest first! And then you can tackle the job in the morning!" _Darren. I haven't known you very long, and if you agree to this, I won't __**get **__to know you because I will __**kill **__you! _I thought. Darren let his arms fall to his sides, "Uh… okay."  
"Now, off to bed with you!" I mentally screamed at Darren's stupidity, but followed the others as a KaratsukiNumemon led us into a small room with a leaf-bed laid out for us, due to the fact that the beds were on the walls. I sighed as Lydia turned to me just before she lay down, "Look, Harry. You might want to sit this one out and leave it to us warriors." I growled, "I don't know who you think you are, O'Dwyer, but you can't order me around! For your information, I **have **a spirit!" She raised one eyebrow challengingly, "Prove it." I sighed and held up my blue-and-brown d-tector and proceeded to show her the 'オ' symbol of harmony. She nodded, half-growling as she lay down next to Darren. I looked around and, seeing no place I could lie down alone, I walked over to Arlene. She grinned at me, "Something on your mind?" I shrugged as I lay down, "I'm just worried. I don't trust those KaratsukiNumemon after seeing their reaction." She shook her head, "Me either. Darren was an idiot to agree to stay here."  
"Yeah. I think I'm gonna stay awake, just in case they try something."  
"Okay, then. Good luck with that." I grinned, "Thanks. I'll need it." Despite my promise, within ten minutes, I was asleep.

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I mentally groaned as Darren turned over to face me and opened his eyes. "What?" I growled. He blinked his eyes open properly before resting his head on his hand, "Hey, you know, I didn't like you at first, but you're alright, helping out the KaratsukiNumemon and all." I growled and turned over so that my back was facing him, "They helped me first. Just don't think I'll help **you**." I heard him 'hmph' as he turned over again. I sighed. _Why do I push everyone away? Why can't I just make friends with these guys?_ I sighed again as I closed my eyes and let my body fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Arlene's POV;**

I blinked my eyes open wearily and looked down. _Ugh. That's a long way down. _I closed my eyes again, and then flashed them open again. _Wait. A long way down? _"What's going on here?" I heard Chloe scream. Aaron, beside her, was looking down as well, "You don't want to know!" I looked down at myself. I was tied with my hands behind my back to a wooden pole driven into the wall of the cliff. I looked at all of my friends. Everyone except for Lydia, Harry and I were screaming. Harry, on one side, was cursing and glaring down at the ground whereas Lydia, on my other side, was trying to look up at the KaratsukiNumemon above us. "What are you doing?!" She yelled, but her soft, harsh voice made it sound like she was just speaking normally. The elder was standing on the long, wooden pole that John's rope was tied to. He glared down at us, "We'll give you back to your partner in exchange for our womon!" Darren scowled up at them over his shoulder, struggling to get free of his binds, "You dirty sneaks! Is that why you brought us here?"  
"Hmph! I think it is **you** who are the dirty sneaks! **Pretending **to be caring, helpful strangers, when you're **really **legendary warriors!" The elder said, tossing his head and glaring at the two rivals. Chloe squeezed her eyes shut, obviously not liking the fact that her too-big trousers could fall at any moment beside her friends and Aaron, under some crazy digimon, and over who knows what, "I don't understand! What's wrong with that?!" He continued glaring down at us, "The time for your games and lies is over! Soon you'll be back with your ally!" I had a bad feeling that I faintly knew what he was talking about, but what did us being warriors have to do with it? Lydia growled, her glare becoming even fiercer than the one she used on Darren, "Ally? What are you talking about?!" The elder moved forwards, "Don't play dumb! We know you're all in league with Grumblemon!" Harry and I turned to glare up at him as everyone made ridiculously horrified faces, "YEAH! WE'RE GREAT FRIENDS WITH THE GUY WHO THREW US OFF A **CLIFF**!" I wasn't exactly sure if our sarcasm got through, due to the fact that we said it at the same time, yelling it at the top of our voices, but we didn't have time to worry about it. For just then… **BOOOM! **A huge hole was blasted from the wall and an annoying voice I easily recognised came out of it, "Now give fractal code, or bad things be happen!" I groaned and, if I wasn't tied up, would have facepalmed, "Oh, Jesus, his grammar's **awful**!" Lydia and Harry nodded in agreement as Darren slightly pushed himself away from the wall to get a better view of the new cave, "Oh, yeah? Says who?" He and Lydia were the only ones still glaring. Aaron, Chloe and John were worriedly pressing themselves against the wall, half afraid to look, while Harry and I were grimacing in pain due to the fact that several rocks had hit us when the cave had been created. The voice was coming closer now, and I gasped as a small, gnome like digimon emerged from the cave, "Me do. And you say me to, once you know who me is. You call me Grumblemon!" We all gasped in astonishment and I took in his appearance. He was exactly like a small garden gnome with a large hat and red-and-blue armour, but the thing that surprised me most was the symbol on his belt. It was a symbol rather like the warrior symbols that had been somewhere on all of us when we digivolved which meant… "He's also a… legendary warrior?!" Darren cried, but only loud enough for us to hear him. Grumblemon glared at us, "Give fractal code. Or else! You not want see what 'or else' is!" Bokomon raised his eyebrows curiously, "I didn't realise there were **evil** legendary warriors!" _And I didn't realise you were even there! _I thought, looking at the digimon, who was hanging beside Harry. Grumblemon suddenly took a step forwards, confused, "What for human yoyos?"  
"Grumblemon! If you want to save your allies, then give us back our womon now!" I heard the elder exclaim, but I was too focused on Grumblemon to look up, the opposite of Aaron, who gasped in horror, "Those knives are a little close there!" **That **made us all, Lydia included, look up and give a small cry of terror. Grumblemon shrugged, "So? Me no care what happen to weak human things!" The KaratsukiNumemon glanced sideways at one another and brought the sickles they were holding even closer to the ropes, causing everyone to panic even more. Grumblemon stood, watching both us and them, a look of interest on his ugly face. The elder raised his eyebrows (Do they have any? If not, let me know so I can correct this.) and stared in astonishment at Grumblemon, "Wait, you mean you really don't care about them? But they're legendary warriors too!" Grumblemon gasped and turned to us with a look on his face that sent my heart plummeting to the very pit of my stomach, "What? These weaklings be legendary warriors? Me thinks somebody got their hands on some spirits and took them when they shouldn't have! Now, let me get my hands on you and take them all right back!" We all gasped in horror and terror as he brought out a large hammer. _Okay, where the hell did that come from?! _The elder brought his sickle away from the rope, "Wait, what's going on here? You mean you **aren't **allies?"  
"That's what we've been trying to tell you!" John yelled, tears streaming down his face. Grumblemon brought his hammer back as far as he possibly could, and then rammed it into the wall. The only reason we escaped unscathed was because we drew our legs up close to our chests to avoid being killed. The KaratsukiNumemon screamed in terror and, dropping the knives, ran up the walls of the cliff. Lydia and I looked at one another, growled, nodded and immediately pushed off the cliff. I went just above her, allowing the knife to cut through my ropes before I pushed it down to her, using my foot, and grabbed onto the rope, using it to swing myself up onto the poles. I grabbed the nearest rope, Harry's, pulled him up and untied him as Lydia cut through her ropes and began falling, much to everyone's terror. "SPIRIT!" She cried as she grabbed her d-tector and the usual ring of data surrounded her hand, "Execute! Spirit Evolution! Lobomon!" I turned to Harry and nodded grimly as the KaratsukiNumemon came back and began freeing our friends and Lobomon charged at Grumblemon, "Our turn. Execute! Spirit Evolution! Flasinamon!" I turned and flew towards Lobomon, who was now battling Grumblemon, as Harry grabbed his own d-tector.

* * *

**Normal POV;**

A ring of data surrounded Harry's hand as he slammed it into his d-tector, "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Shining, millennium armour coated his body as he grew in size until he was roughly twice the size of Lobomon. A golden helmet covered his head and his hair turned silver and grew to waist level. His eyes, the only part of his face still visible, turned red as he grabbed a long, golden sword and shield from the air and swung the sword around for a moment, completing the transformation, "Secociamon!"

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I lunged at Grumblemon as Arlene pulled Harry up. Kicking him through the wall of a house, I grinned and tried to disarm him so that he couldn't attack the others, just in case he tried to do something tricky. I growled as he stood up again and lunged at me, forcing me to jump up onto a table. He swung his hammer at me again, crushing the table as I jumped off and pointed my arm at him, "Howling Laser!" He ducked and my attack blasted through the wall as, outside, Arlene and Harry digivolved and came over to me, only to be thrown back by Grumblemon's hammer, and the KaratsukiNumemon untied the others, apologising at the same time, therefore making the process agonisingly slow. I yelled out in pain as Grumblemon succeeded in hitting me with his hammer, driving me through the wall of the building and into another. "Lobomon!" I heard the new digimon, probably Harry, cry as I grabbed onto the edge, barely saving myself from a painful fall. I gasped as Grumblemon stood on my hand, forcing me to release the wall. I was now only holding on with one hand and Flasinamon and Harry, Secociamon, I think, were still several buildings away. I yelled in pain as, once again, Grumblemon stood on my hand, but I refused to let go and fall to a certain death. Seeing this the others grabbed their d-tectors and I heard the sounds of them spirit evolving.  
"Execute! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Agunimon!"  
"Kumamon!"  
"Kazemon!"  
"Beetlemon!"  
I closed my eyes as Grumblemon raised his hammer, bracing myself for the hit, but none came. Opening my eyes, I gasped. Beetlemon, probably Aaron, due to the fact that it was **way** too big to be John, was clasping either end of the hammer, preventing Grumblemon from hitting me with it, "Careful! You could hurt someone with this!" I struggled to pull myself up as Beetlemon flew outside to Agunimon and Secociamon, who had just joined them, taking Grumblemon with him as Kazemon and Flasinamon flew in, Kazemon holding the smallest one, probably John. "Give me your hand!" Kazemon cried, reaching down. I looked away. I didn't need anyone's help! I wasn't weak like John! "Cut the macho act and give me your hand!" She yelled, growing impatient. I growled and clasped her hand as she pulled me up and the battle outside continued, "Thanks." She shrugged as we stood up, "Soyez le bienvenu. Glad to do it!" I nodded, "Okay, here's the plan. While we're fighting Grumblemon, you two free all the captives and get the KaratsukiNumemon somewhere safe. You got it?" Kazemon and Kumamon nodded and, picking Kumamon up again, Kazemon flew out of the building towards the cave as Flasinamon and I jumped up to Agunimon and Beetlemon. "You want to start digging, or should I?" I heard Beetlemon say. _Definitely Aaron. Only he would make a joke in the middle of a battle. _I glared at Agunimon as he looked around angrily, "What's wrong now?" He continued looking, barely giving any signs that he had actually heard me, "We don't know where Grumblemon is!"  
"You don't **know**?!" I yelled. _What kind of idiots am I working with here?! _Suddenly, Grumblemon burst out of the wall from above us. Flasinamon and I raised our arms to open fire, but Agunimon leapt up, blocking our target, "What are you trying to do, get **shot**?!" He glanced back at us, shocked, as Grumblemon hit out at him, sending him flying backwards again. "You should've just let **me **handle it!" I growled as Flasinamon flew after him, grabbed him, and quickly placed him on a ladder to stop him falling to a certain death. I groaned as Grumblemon appeared beside them and began hitting out at them, occasionally actually making contact with them. "Agunimon! Flasinamon!" Beetlemon cried as Secociamon ran forwards. I lowered my arm, unable to get a clear shot, "Get out of the way!" Beetlemon flew down to Agunimon as Flasinamon finally escaped, "That's enough!" Grabbing Agunimon, he pulled him out of the way, finally giving me a clear shot. "Yes!" I muttered, raising my arm again, but, unfortunately, Grumblemon spotted me and dug back into the wall. I groaned, deactivating my laser as Secociamon stepped up beside me, "Now where are you?"  
"You want guess?" We whipped around as Grumblemon appeared behind us and swung his hammer at us, catching us off guard, "Too late!" I cried out as we was knocked from the building and Flasinamon grabbed me, but, unable to fly with my and Secociamon's weight as well as her own, called Beetlemon over, who, taking us by either arm, flew us over to the ladder Agunimon was on as it began to rain. Neemon and Bokomon leaned over and watched as we climbed the ladder, "Careful, it's slick!" Agunimon cursed as his foot slipped, almost kicking me in the face, "You don't have to tell me!" Beetlemon flew up just above us, where a small landslide was occurring, "Whoa! Look at that!" He muttered to himself for a moment as we stared at the falling mud, before flying towards where he had seen Grumblemon disappear, "Hey Grumblemon! Where're you hiding, you big fraidy cat!" Grumblemon popped out of the wall just behind him, hammer raised. "Thunder Fist!" Beetlemon cried, plunging his fist into the wall just beside Grumblemon, causing the large pile of mud above him to shift slightly and begin to fall. But Grumblemon, oblivious to this, snickered, "Nice shot, dorkus!" Finally hearing the rumbling sound above him, he looked up and screamed in terror when he saw the rocks tumbling down the cliff a second before they hit him, pulling him out of the mountain and he fell to the ground below. Agunimon grinned slightly, "Nice job." Beetlemon laughed and flew back towards the ladder, "Yeah, it was, wasn't it!" I growled and looked around as Kazemon and Kumamon flew towards us, with Flasinamon close behind them, "But where are the captives?" Kumamon pointed to one of the smaller mountains on the corner of the one we were on and we looked up to see the KaratsukiNumemon chatting and cheering happily. Aaron smiled sadly, "Boy. Sure must be nice to get back to your family." I looked down for a moment, thinking of my own family, my father and step-mother, wondering if they missed me. Suddenly Aaron looked at the point where the mud-and-rock pile had collapsed, "Hey! What's that?" In its place was ever-moving data, a lot like the ones we had scanned from evil digimon. Kazemon's jaw dropped slightly, "Must be the mountains fractal code!" Suddenly, from one of the few pieces of rock remaining, Grumblemon tunnelled his way out, "Look like me find what me want anyway!" He jumped out from the wall and landed on a small ridge beneath it as we all looked on, speechless, "Me thank you. Me never find without you! Now get rid you!" He held up a small, wooden-totem-like figure, a lot like a spirit and smirked evilly at us, "Execute! Beast Spirit Evolution! Gigasmon!" He was surrounded by data, and when it cleared, he looked **completely **different. He was brown, white and large, had a long, pointed nose that reminded me slightly of Pinocchio, and his arms and legs were long, thin and muscular. Leaping up into the air, he began spinning his arms around, faster and faster, "Quagmire Twister!" We gasped in horror as, although Kazemon, Flasinamon and Beetlemon dodged the attack, he headed straight for the ladder we were on, knocking us off of it with one hit. I screamed as I fell, but easily heard Kumamon yelling, "Grab on to me! Frozen Tundra!" I grabbed onto one of the pointing icicles just before I fell past him, Secociamon and Agunimon landing just above me. Secociamon growled and I could see he was struggling not to de-digivolve, "What the hell was that?" I shook my head as I looked up to see Kazemon and Flasinamon catch a falling Neemon and Bokomon as Beetlemon was thrown back, "I don't know and I don't know if I **want **to." Gigasmon jumped back onto the ledge, "Slide Evolution! That it? That best you do with your spirits? That pathetic! Even make **pathetic **look good! Slide Evolution! You choked!" Agunimon dug his hand into… Kumamon… as he stared up at Gigasmon, "Wait a minute! What's going on?"  
"Rhino-boy has two evolutions!" Bokomon yelled as Gigasmon moved towards the fractal code, "Now me take fractal code in name of Cherubimon! Fractal code, digitise!" He opened his mouth as wide as he could and immediately absorbed the fractal code as the mountain began to shake and crumble. I screamed in terror as the thick ropes connecting the smaller mountains to the one we were on snapped and Kumamon fell of the wall, becoming normal again, and we fell into a large crevice, de-digivolving. The last thing I saw of the mountain as I looked up was Gigasmon completely absorbing the whole thing and it disappeared and we entered a long, wide tunnel.

* * *

**Arlene:** Read more to find out what will happen on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!  
**Me:** *laugh* Or what will happen in the 'friendship' *cough* relationship *cough* between Arlene and Harry!  
**Arlene:** *shoves me* Shut up!  
**Me:** Nah. It's more fun to annoy you!  
**Arlene:** You tell anyone I like him and you're dead!  
**Me:** Uh, Arlene? You just told every single person reading this!  
**Arlene:** *looks around at everyone looking a her* Hahaha, hi... I'm gonna kill you for making us talk before and after the story!  
**Me:** *screams and runs away* Until next time! :)


	8. Chapter 7: A Friendship in our Midst?

**Me:** Okay. I've typed this up twice and lost it twice! I HAD NO INTERNET ALL WEEK!  
**Harry: **Then how'd you post?  
**Me: **UGH! Wifi café then dad used computer for an hour leaving me with nothing to do.  
**Harry:**... Where'd you get the taser?  
**Me: ***looks down at hand and shrieks* WHAT THE HELL?! I told JP to transfer this to Light, Darkness and the Teams Without Their Leaders! Oh well! *grins and points taser at Harry*  
**Harry: ***yells in terror and runs to Arlene and Aoife who are in another room*  
**Arlene and Aoife:** *runs into the room I'm in brandishing weapons from Light, Darkness and the Teams Without Their Leaders. A chainsaw for Arlene and kendo stick for Aoife*  
**Me:** *gets cornered* sh*t! Why are all my weapons from other stories in this one?!

* * *

**Chapter Seven  
A Friendship in Our Midst?**

* * *

**John's POV;**

Darren, Harry and I shrieked in terror as we continued to fall down the tunnel and Lydia, who had fallen upside down, tried to turn herself around. "AAAH! IS THIS EVER GONNA END?!" Darren yelled as a small, spotlight appeared further on in the passage. Harry glared at Darren as we shot out of the tunnel and into the air, "DID YOU HAVE TO ASK?!" We all screamed again, Lydia included, as we hung, suspended, in the air for a few seconds before falling. I squeezed my eyes shut as my body connected with… something soft and bouncy. Darren exclaimed in surprise as he bounced back up into the air, shortly followed by Harry, Lydia and myself. "This looks like more fun than it is!" I groaned as we landed in a large ball pit filled with gigantic, multi-coloured rubber balls. Lydia nodded in agreement as she landed beside me, growling as we sent several balls into the air, "You're not kidding!" Harry grimaced and rubbed his arm slightly as he and Darren forced their way up to the surface, "Where are we?" Darren glanced around, shielding his eyes from the sun, "It looks like… a big playground! And if it is, what needs a playground this big?" Lydia growled in annoyance, probably because she hadn't fallen with Arlene, or preferably on her own, and climbed up onto the blue ball beside me as I looked around, "We're gonna find out, aren't we?" Darren nodded and fell back to the ground, groaning, "Of course."

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

I sighed as we walked through a large, building-block-filled meadow. "Keep an eye out for Zoe, Arlene and the guys," Darren said, hands in his pockets. Harry raised one eyebrow, "Can digimon actually be considered as guys?" Darren shrugged nonchalantly, "Digimon, Bokomon and Neemon, guides, whatever. You know what I mean, anyway." I growled and looked around, seeing the many places that could conceal our friends or enemy digimon, "Something tells me we're not going to find them easily in this place!" We all looked up as a robot flew past us in the distance, one arm pointed in the direction he was flying in. "Hey, maybe that flying guy has seen them, or knows where we are!" Darren exclaimed as John's face lit up, "A flying toy robot! Cool!" I growled as he ran towards the robot, soon followed by Harry and Darren, who yelled at him not to run off. _I don't know which one of them is worse! _I growled again and ran after them, not wanting any of them to get hurt. I slowed to a halt as John stopped next to a large, racing car track and sat down. "Hey, check this out!" He cried and set a car on the track as Darren and Harry looked around, Harry's attention quickly diverted from looking for the robot at the sight of a brown violin propped up against a keyboard beside the tracks. He grinned and picked it up, smiling softly as he placed the instrument under his chin, enjoying the weight of it. I growled in aggravation as Darren looked around for the robot again, "Hey, where'd he go?" I glared down at John and across at Harry as he placed a bow on the violin strings, "Don't sit down! We could be attacked at any minute! We don't have time for this!" I rolled my eyes as John placed another car on the track, "What a **baby**." John whipped around to face me, almost throwing his glasses off his nose, "I am **not**! These are just cool toys!" _Toys. Toys __**are**__ for babies. _Darren glared at me and turned to John, "Yeah, these are cool toys, but it probably isn't the best time to be playing." Harry sighed and, looking around, grabbed a case and placed the violin and bow inside it, closed it, and picked it up as John stared pleadingly at Darren. "Aw, come on! We won't get another chance to play with these!" He whined, giving Darren puppy-dog-eyes. Darren looked around again as John went back to playing with the toys, bending over to pick up a small, red-and-yellow figurine, "Is this the toy robot?" I opened one eye, observing John as he picked up one of the cars, a large grin on his face, "Hey, maybe the cars can play too!" I looked up, surprised, as I heard a slight **pew** and Darren grinned, "Hey, that is cool! Super Robot Punch!" Harry laughed slightly as I glared at Darren, "Not you too! Aren't you a little **old **to be playing with toys?" He turned to face me, anime sweatdropping, "Uh, well… I guess… I guess so. Put the toys down, John." John looked up at him and groaned, replacing the car, but I noticed Harry kept a tight hold of the violin. _Whatever. He's not __**my **__problem. We don't even know if he's on our side yet! At least __**he **__didn't grab a car._

* * *

**Harry's POV;**

I mentally groaned as I watched Lydia and Darren walk side by side, ignoring both each other as well as John and me. _Those two are worse than my two dogs when they get mad! _I sighed, wondering if Trudy and Kiba, my dogs, missed me. I had been away for several days now, and I was the only one who took care of them. "I wonder what happened to Zoe, JP and Arlene," Darren said, breaking through the silence and my thoughts. Lydia glared at him, not breaking her steady stride, "I don't know, and don't particularly care, but I think our only choice is to head for the Forest Terminal."  
"Yeah. I bet we can meet up with them there." I blinked and took out my D-Tector, "You guys got that message too?" Darren and John nodded, but Lydia just glared at me over her shoulder before focusing her gaze back on the path ahead of us. Suddenly, Darren and I glanced back at John with a small exclamation of surprise, making Lydia look back too. The younger boy was carrying a small, pink pig toy and a green balloon, grinning widely, "Hey, guys! Check this out!" He laughed and pressed down on one of the pigs ears making it oink loudly. I chuckled slightly, "Yeah, that is kinda cute." Darren frowned slightly and placed his hands on his hips as Lydia deadpanned John, "Hey, look! We decided this isn't the time to play around!" John frowned and bit his lip, releasing the balloon, "**You** decided, you mean." Darren gasped, realising how harsh he'd sounded, "Calm down. Don't start crying!" John glared at him, puffing out his cheeks and I could see a full on fight starting between him and Lydia, who rolled her eyes. I put one hand on his shoulder and grinned down at him, "When we find the others you can play. Okay, John?" He ignored me and turned away from Darren, who sighed, "I feel really bad now." Lydia frowned and closed her eyes, crossing her arms as I watched John carefully to make sure he didn't run off, "Why? Because of **him**? The baby has to grow up **sometime**!" I glared at Lydia as John gasped, put down the pig and stared at the ground sadly, pulling his hood over his hazel coloured hair, "You know, it doesn't hurt to keep your opinions to yourself." She shrugged and Darren turned, also to glare at her, "Harry's right! You don't have to be mean! He's just a little kid, for God's sake!" She shrugged again and began walking away, "Whatever." Darren gave an exclamation of annoyance and whipped around, grabbing the shoulder of her jacket, "No! You can't just say; whatever! So listen!" She paused and I could see her frowning and glancing sideways and the brunette, who still had a tight grasp on her shoulder. "I know you're not used to having friends, but you're part of a team now, so you'd better show some **support**!" Darren yelled, his spare fist clenched. Lydia closed her eyes and frowned at the ground, "Great idea. Let's support the useless kid until we all **die** because of his stupidity!" Darren let his arms fall to his sides and glared at her bandana-covered head, "No **wonder **no one likes you." She gasped slightly, opening her eyes again, and I could see her tense. She whipped around to face him, kicking out at him, "What do you know?" Darren gasped in surprise and fell backwards as her foot met his leg, making him release Lydia's shoulder. He fell on his back, now gasping in pain, as he hit a small-but-sharp rock. I growled. _That's the last straw._ I walked towards Lydia and she closed one eye and glared at me with the other, daring me to do something. I raised one hand and brought it down sharply on her cheek as she sharply turned her face the other way. I brought my hand, which was now stinging, back as Darren stood up, watching what would happen. She slowly turned her head back towards me, frowning defiantly, "Was that supposed to actually hurt?" I growled, raising my hand again, "No. That was a warning. But this one might!"  
"Guys, stop fighting! We'll never get to the Forest Terminal if you don't!" I froze, my hand half-raised as John spoke up, drawing me out of my small rage. Suddenly, he gasped, making us all turn around, "Hey! It's a train!"

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

I grinned as John and I sat on the front of the train, Harry on the roof, and Aoife on the first carriage roof, emphasis on the word on. "Some train," Lydia muttered, chin on the palm of her hand." I grinned cheesily, "Yeah! Some **toy** train!" She groaned as John began laughing, "Yeah, very funny. Just shut up, okay? Its bad enough I have to ride on this stupid thing!" I laughed and nodded at Harry and John. There was no way we were letting **this **opportunity slip! "Lydia's playing with toys! Lydia's playing with toys!" We chanted in unison, laughing as she groaned again. Suddenly, John glanced sideways at a large, yellow, walking bear, "Wow! Check that out, Darren! It's a giant, walking, teddy bear!" I grinned, a light bulb flashing in my head, "Hey, maybe he knows how to get to the Forest Terminal!" Lydia nodded, delighted for an excuse to get off the train, and leapt towards him with Harry, John and I just behind her. "Hey, buddy! Wait up!" I yelled; hand in the air, waving, as I overtook Lydia. The teddy turned to face us, his red eyes shining with happiness as he ran towards me. I stopped as he grabbed me and threw me down, and then raised a paw in victory, "I am still undefeated!" I gasped as he picked me up again and set me on my feet before getting into a fighting position, "Now we wrestle for the championship of the world!" Lydia and Harry took a small step back as I reclined, but John grinned enthusiastically. "Alright! I dibs going next!" He cried, punching the air with his fist. Harry grabbed his hand as we all started running from the bear, "No, you don't kid!" I nodded in agreement, grabbing John's other hand as he pulled back, slowing Harry down, "Yeah! It'd crush us!" I gasped for breath as we put more distance between us and the bear, but I knew we still had a long way to run if we were going to escape him!

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

"Wait! The championship! Oh, I get it! You wanna play tag! I'm it!" I growled as the bear struggled to catch up to us, waving his arms in the air. _If we don't find somewhere to hide soon, that guy will freaking crush us! _"Quick! Up here!" I muttered, grabbing Darren's wrist and pulling him towards a large, Viking-styled boat. He in turn pulled John, whose hand Harry still had a grasp on, leading both boys towards the boat with us. We ducked down behind the small wall as the bear ran by us. "You guys are good at this!" The bear yelled, his arms still in the air. I sighed in relief, my eyes wide, as we peeked over the edge of the boat, "That bear's dangerous!" Darren nodded in agreement, his eyes even wider than mine, "And you didn't even get thrown down by him!" John let out a puff of air and looked away, "Well, I don't know. He seemed kinda fun to me." _I refer to the statement I made about him before Harry hit me. We will all die because of his stupidity one day! _Harry glanced worriedly around before standing up, "Let's get off this thing." Suddenly, he was thrown back into me as the boat, with a loud creak, swung up into the air. "What's going on?" I screamed as I pushed Harry off me so I could cling onto the edge of the boat and avoid falling off it. He fell past Darren and John, only avoiding falling because of the small steps to the bow of the boat. Due to some apparent miracle, he managed to keep hold of the violin. Harry growled and clung to the steps, although still refusing to let go of the violin, "Well, we're obviously on one of the Viking ship theme park rides!" I screamed again as we plummeted downwards, ignoring his comment, "I'm gonna **kill** whoever had the idea of hiding us on this crazy thing!" Darren managed to glare at me and roll his eyes while yelling in terror, "So you're gonna commit suicide? It was your idea, Ms. I'm-to-cool-to-listen-to-other-peoples-ideas!" I cried out again as we remained suspended in the air for a minute, "Just get us off of this thing!"  
"Hey, we're floating!" I heard Darren exclaim in surprise, his eyes wide. "Not anymore!" John cried, his eyes squeezed shut as we moved forwards again. Darren breathed a sigh of relief as we stopped for a moment, "We're done!" He relaxed his grip slightly, but tightened it again as we flew backwards even faster than before, "Well, I thought we were!" I gulped as John began to turn green. "Is anyone else feeling kinda sick?" He asked. I growled, taking a deep breath as we slowed for another moment, "Oh! Get us off here before he hurls!" Darren glared at me. "Sure! I'll just snap my fingers!" He yelled sarcastically. John released the mast with one hand and placed it over his mouth, turning even greener, "Uh oh!" I gasped as he turned towards me, "Don't look in my direction, kid!" He turned away from me and towards Darren, taking deep, rasping gulps of air. Darren gulped, sweatdropping, "Hey! Don't point him towards me!" John began to turn again, looking at Harry, who pushed himself up against the wall, "Don't even think about it!" I sighed with relief as the boat finally stopped, "I think he'll be fine." **BLEARGH!** Harry exclaimed in disgust as the brownish-green liquid landed all over the bottom of his trousers and shoes and John turned towards me, not wanting to vomit on Harry again. **BLEARGH! **I jumped out of the way just on time, "Ugh! Get him off, get him off!" John groaned and clutched his stomach, climbing shakily down the steps with Darren behind him as Harry and I stood up, glaring at the vomit in disgust, Harry trying to wipe it off his trousers without actually touching it. I wrinkled my nose and climbed down the steps, avoiding the large puddle that had landed just at my feet, luckily not splashing me, as Darren told John he'd give him a piggy-back ride. I rolled my eyes, "Give me a break! Make the kid walk! The exercise will do him good." Darren glared at me as Harry followed me down the steps, "It's not a big deal. He's not feeling great so I'll help him out!" I back at him, my hands becoming fists, "Oh, yeah? And what if something attacks you! You won't be fast enough to run away with him on your back! You're slow enough as it is!" Darren glared at me, but his face fell slightly. _I can't believe we have this guy as a leader! _"You're about the worst leader I've ever seen, and that includes the thug leader I saw lead his group right into the police station to avoid being arrested! You never think ahead!" Darren stood up straight again and glared fiercely at me, but I was used to the more threatening glares from my father, "Well at least I think of other people, Ms. Definition-of-the-word-selfish!" John walked by us both, his head down, "I can walk." I raised one eyebrow and threw Darren a _you see?_ look. He ignored me and looked at John, surprised, "You sure?" John nodded and glanced sideways at me as I crossed my arms, "Yeah. I don't have a choice, really, do I?" Darren glared at me again as Harry looked around and pointed to a large, cake-shaped house, "Why don't we see if anyone lives in that house. Maybe they can help us, or at least stop you two arguing for five minutes." Darren grinned as we walked in and he looked around, "So this is what it's like to be a kid in a candy store!" John nodded in agreement, grinning, "Yeah! It's the **best**!" I facepalmed as Harry laughed. _You have got to be kidding me. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Freaking. Kidding. Me! _Darren raised his eyebrows as John grabbed a stick of candyfloss, "I guess we have time for a snack, right?" John nodded, grinned, and grabbed three more sticks of candyfloss, "Here! Have some!" He handed one each to Darren and Harry before shoving one into my hands. I growled as Darren took a huge mouthful, "We do **not **have time to sit around here stuffing our faces with candy!" Harry grinned and took a bite of his own candyfloss, violin **still** in hand, "Lighten up, Lydia. We'll go in a minute!" I groaned and glared at Darren again, "We have to find the Forest Terminal! We're not at a carnival! Do you understand?" I growled again as he took another huge mouthful of the candyfloss, "Are you even **listening **to me?! God, you're infuriating!" Darren paused in mid-bite and glared at me, "What are we **supposed **to do? We're floating on an island!" I glared again, my eyebrows furrowing into the fiercest glare I had ever given anyone, "There's **another **example of why you'll never be a good leader! You just **give up**! It's like you don't even want to help your friends at all! I mean, take a look at what you're doing right now!" Darren glared at me, "What would **you** know about having friends? You push everyone away and don't give anyone a chance!" John whimpered slightly, a now-bare stick in his hands, and moved closer to Harry who put a comforting hand on the younger boys shoulder. Darren glared at me again, "I don't see **you** coming up with any ideas!"  
"At least I'm not just **eating**! We need to think about the other legendary warriors!"  
"Legendary war- wha… but… what are you talking about?"  
"What if the other four warriors turn out to be on the **enemy's **side? And we still don't know much about you, O'Connor! We need to think about the worst case scenario! Not just play games and eat sweets or we might not make it out of this world **alive**!" I received a glare from both Darren and Harry as John lowered his head sadly. "Look, can we not talk about this now?" Darren murmured, glancing at John. I growled, "You mean not in front of **John**? I don't care **how **young he is! He has to learn to face the truth!" Harry stepped forwards and placed a firm hand on my shoulder, "Shut up, Lydia. Can't you see you've already upset him enough?" I narrowed my eyes at him and shook him off, "Don't. Tell. Me. What. To. Do!"  
"I'm sorry you hate me so much," John said quietly, surprising me. I shook myself and turned to him, "I don't **hate **you. It's just-" I cut myself off and growled **again** as Darren walked over to John. "I'm sorry," John mumbled, still staring at his feet as Darren put his hand on the younger boy's head in a brotherly fashion.

* * *

**Harry's POV;**

"Does anyone… want to talk?" John asked feebly as we walked out of the house in complete silence. We had all, Aoife included, with some persuasion, eaten at least one thing and were now going with Lydia's idea of looking for the Forest Terminal. "Fine. Let's talk about how we're going to get to the Forest Terminal and what we're going to about the other Legendary Warriors!" I sighed, exasperated, yet grateful she hadn't mentioned me again. Darren growled, actually **growled**, and glared at the ground, "Ugh! You're unbelievable! I told you I didn't want to talk about this in front of John!"  
"Well **I **told **you** that you couldn't treat him differently from the rest of us!" Lydia growled, her longer strands of hair blowing in the wind. _Ugh! These two sound like a married couple arguing in front of their kid!_ Darren continued walking as John began to fall behind. I paused, waiting for him to catch up, barely noticing the black-furred bear creeping towards us. "Yeah, but you can respect the fact he's just a kid!" Lydia whipped around to face Darren, "So are you!"  
"Oh yeah, well-"  
"Um, guys? Help!" Darren was cut off by John as the large, black bear lunged towards us, grabbing John around the waist and the two rivals whipped around. I quickly dodged his flailing paw and ran to try and get John out of his grip, but he brought his hand back around, grabbing my arm. I cried out in pain as I heard a loud **crack**, but began trying to wriggle free of his iron-strong grip. "It's that bear again!" I heard Darren exclaim as the bear tried to keep me in his grip. Lydia shook her head, "No. It's gotten way creepier!" I groaned as my D-Tector began beeping in my pocket, "Why does this happen at the worst times?!"

The ShadowToyAgumon turned Monzaemon into WaruMonzaemon. His Heartbreak Attack will **really **bring you down!

I winced in pain as the WaruMonzaemon dragged us towards the castle, slowing, for some strange reason, as Darren and Lydia began to gain on him. "Hey you big, fuzzy creep! Give my friends back!" I noticed how he said 'my' instead of 'our', but Lydia didn't seem that bothered due to the situation. WaruMonzaemon whipped around, dropping me in the process, and placed one hand over his heart, "Heartbreak Attack!" The black heart flew straight at Darren, crashing into him as he cried out in shock and fell to his knees. "What's the point? We're never gonna catch him!" He groaned as Lydia stopped and turned to face him. I swear I could hear ominous music in the background. I looked longingly at the violin in my hand, wishing I could play it. I had absolutely no idea how I had managed to keep my grip on it for so long! I slid the strap over my shoulder as tears began to slide out of Darren's green eyes. "Why are you crying? What happened?" Lydia snapped, her eyes wide in alarm. Darren wiped one of his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie, "I-I-I d-don't know! I j-j-just feel re-really sad!"  
"Heartbreak Attack!" WaruMonzaemon yelled again, this time aiming at Lydia, who whipped around as the black heart came into contact with her chest and she fell to her knees". I ran over to her, seeing that she was struggling not to cry. "Darren, Harry, what just hit me? I… I feel so sad!" I froze as I stared at the two fallen warriors. _What do I do now?_ "I feel like everything is so hopeless, you know?" Lydia continued, shaking with the effort of not crying. Darren, who was still rubbing his eyes, gave another wail, "It **is **hopeless! Nothing's working! We couldn't even save the KaratsukiNumemon's home!"  
"I'm sorry I yelled at you."  
"No! I'm sorry I yelled at **you**!" I growled and whipped around to face WaruMonzaemon as he readied himself for another attack, "Heartbreak Attack!" I ducked beneath the high attack and sidestepped the next three he sent flying my way. He growled, obviously realising I would continue dodging, and began to continue running towards the castle. I did my best to even out the distance between us as Darren and Lydia stood up, complaining about how the attack was unfair. Eventually, seeing that in my human form I wasn't nearly fast enough, I grabbed my D-Tector. "Execute! Spirit Evolution! Secociamon!" I began sprinting after WaruMonzaemon as he reached the lavender castle and dashed across the drawbridge, smirking as it closed just behind him, supposedly blocking me from entry. I smirked as I watched as John's hood became visible in a small window, threw my sword as hard as I could into the wall, took a flying leap and pushed myself off it up to the battlements surrounding the castle, I reached down and grabbed my sword again and jumped up to the window, smashing through the wooden pane as WaruMonzaemon jumped back, astonished. "M-my Lord! I never realised!" He stammered as I strode forwards, sword in hand, "You have no right to call me your Lord. Second Strike!" He cried out in pain as I drove my sword into him and his fractal code appeared. "You are not the kind of bear a kid would want in their bed at night. Fractal code, digitise!" John gasped in happiness as WaruMonzaemon turned back into normal Monzaemon and I de-digivolved, "Harry! You came to rescue me!" I nodded as Monzaemon stood up, gasped in horror and bowed, "I am so sorry, my Lord!" I raised one eyebrow and looked at John, who shrugged, "Why do you keep calling me your Lord?" Monzaemon's jaw dropped in surprise and his eyes widened, "You mean… you mean you don't know?" I shook my head, now a bit wary. Monzaemon bowed again, looking up as he did so, "Your elemental warrior, AncientShurimon, was once a joint ruler of the digital world while Lucemon guarded it with kindness. He was the Prince of the digital world." I raised my eyebrows and my jaw dropped as John looked on, confused, and the pain began to return to my cracked shoulder, "You mean… you mean…" Monzaemon nodded sombrely, "You, my Lord, are the Prince of the digital world."

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

I growled as I forced myself up, "That attack is so unfair!" Lydia, recovering a second later, (but not before I mentally laughed at the expression on her face) nodded in agreement and stood up, "I am going to **kill **that bear if I get my hands on him!" I gasped in sudden realisation, "And now… John and Harry are gone! What are we going to do?" I groaned as we began walking after WaruMonzaemon in the direction we thought he went in, "Why do evil things always run faster than normal things?" Lydia shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets, "At least we don't have to worry about Harry right now." I raised one eyebrow and stopped, "Why do you hold such a grudge against him? He didn't do anything wrong." Lydia growled and looked away, "We don't know anything about him. He could be working for the enemy for all we know!" I glared at her, "Why do you have to be so paranoid? It's not like everyone in the universe is against you!" Lydia glared right back at me, her piercing blue eyes narrowing, "You said it yourself earlier. No one likes me. I know nothing about friendship. I have no one to trust. I. Have. No. Friends." I gasped as her words hit me like Grumblemon's hammer, "I shouldn't have said those things. I'm sorry." She shook her head and continued looking for WaruMonzaemon, "Its fine. You were just being truthful. Ugh! I don't see him anywhere!" I growled and looked the opposite way, hoping to find even a trace of WaruMonzaemon, "This is our fault 'cause we were fighting. This reminds me of the time I lost my little sister in Mahan Point. I've never been so worried since until now." Lydia nodded, as if in understanding, "I know. Little kids are always getting in the way." I growled and whipped around to face the deadpanning girl, "That isn't what I meant! You have got to be the most selfish kid in the world! No, make that **both** worlds! We have a responsibility to take care of John because he's younger than us! Don't you take care of your own brothers and sisters?" She blinked once. Twice. "I don't have any. I'm an only child. Happy now?" She said, her fists clenched. I let my hands fall to my sides as she looked down at the ground, her eyes clouded with unhappiness, "I don't know anything about having siblings." I blinked, "Why don't you just pretend John's your younger brother? And think what it would be like for a little kid to be alone and afraid. Imagine you could keep him from feeling that way!" Her gaze hardened as she looked up, nodded and began running towards a large building in the distance. _I may have just made the breakthrough of the century. _"Hey! Wait up!"

* * *

**Harry's POV;**

I stared in amazement at Monzaemon, "You-you must be mistaken! I only just started secondary school! There's no **way** I can be a Prince of a world I only discovered was real less than a week ago!" Monzaemon nodded, "It's true, my Lord. You are indeed the Prince." My gaze turned to John, whose jaw had also dropped. I shook my head and walked over to a small chair and sat down as Monzaemon challenged John to a video-game war. _There is no way this is happening. There. Is. No. Freaking. Way. This. Is. Happening._ I glanced down at my trousers, realising I still had vomit on them. I wrinkled my nose and looked around and, seeing a small, dress-up area, ran over to it and rooted through the box until I found a pair of trousers almost identical to the ones I had on me and a pair of blue-and-brown trainers. _They'll probably be better for fighting in._ I made my way behind the curtain… thingy (**I really don't know what it's called! Please tell me in a review so I can update this! O.o**) and quickly changed as John continued to defeat Monzaemon in each game they played. After I changed, I looked longingly at the violin. Pausing the game, Monzaemon turned to look at me, "You can play it now if you want. We don't mind." John looked up to see what he was talking about, then nodded when he saw the violin case, "Yeah, Harry! Please?" I grinned and pulled out the violin, carefully placing it under my chin and testing the weight of it. It was a lot like my violin at home, except mine was a little worse for wear. I grinned again and placed the bow on the strings, quickly making up my mind to play 'Smooth Criminal' from the school musical. Three minutes later, I placed the violin back in its case as Monzaemon and John stared at me, open mouthed. "Um… Harry? How old are you?" I shrugged, a bit confused by his question, "Thirteen. Why?" Their jaws dropped and John stood up, "My brother is nineteen and in college right now. He's been studying music on the violin since he was five and now he's taking a college course in it and you played that about five times better than he ever could." I blushed slightly and buckled the straps on the case, "I've been playing the violin since I was three. It's a sixth sense to me now. Go back to your video game." John shrugged and ran back to his seat as Monzaemon hit 'play' on the game and continued beating Monzaemon.

* * *

**Lydia's POV;**

_I can't believe I told him. Why did I suddenly break down like that?! _We slowed to a stop as the flying robot we had seen earlier flew past us. "Hey! There's a friendly face! Hey, flying robot! We're looking for a little kid and a big bear. You seen them?" Darren exclaimed as the robot looked down at us and raised an arm, pointing towards a large building in the distance, then began flying towards it. Taken by surprise, we fell back a tiny bit, but managed to keep the robot in sight. He flew down to the ground just in front of a large, purple castle. I growled, "You mean they're in that creepy castle?" Darren glanced sceptically at me, "How is it creepy? It's **lavender**!" I glared slightly at him, "**Never **underestimate your enemy if you want to get out of this world alive. Always overestimate." We up to the moat, stopping just in front of it. "It's just so… **lavender**!" Darren exclaimed, probably ignoring my comment. We looked up, seeing John's hoodie in the top window of one of the towers, and possibly the corner of Harry's shirt. "Hey! John, Harry!" Darren called, cupping his hands over his mouth. I frowned and looked up, wondering if there was any glass over the window, "Down here!" I growled as neither moved, "He can't hear us! We have to go in ourselves!" Darren nodded in agreement and waved in thanks to the robot as it flew off. I rolled my eyes, "You just can't stop playing with toys, can you?" He smirked as we ran out onto the moat, "Nothing's going to stop us now!" _I wonder why Harry and John don't just spirit evolve and burst out of there! Maybe WaruMonzaemon took their spirits! This is bad. _Suddenly, we stopped halfway across the moat as an army of lego-like digimon blocked our way. "Except that," Darren muttered, clenching his fists. The digimon glared and sneered at us, and suddenly, we realised why as the moat began to creek and slant upwards beneath our feet. I gave a scream of terror as we were thrown down into the lake below, unable to swim up due to the weight of the water and the shock of what had just happened. I gasped, almost drawing in a mouthful of water, as an arm propelled me into a cave and to the surface of the water. I groaned and fell to my knees, gasping for air as the creature who had brought us down there stood victoriously in front of us. "Once again, I, Pandamon, have foiled the plans of my fiendish foes, the sinister ShadowToyAgumon." I forced myself up a tiny bit so I could glare at Pandamon, "Yeah, thanks! You saved us from them so you could finish us off yourself!" Darren glared at me before turning to Pandamon, "Buddy, why are you so **paranoid**?! Don't pay any attention to her. Thanks for helping us… Pandamon?" Pandamon nodded slightly, his eyes narrowing slightly, "Pandamon, the protector. Welcome, weary warriors, to my secret lair, the Pandacave." _Wow. __**That's **__original! _"I've hid here every since the ShadowToyAgumon started following the evil Cherubimon. Because of Cherubimon's dark power, those misguided menaces plan to go to the real world and wreak their revenge on the children who stopped playing with them. The rest of us toys just want to play with kids." He continued. _WaruMonzaemon sure didn't just want to play when he grabbed John and Harry. _Darren turned to look at me, "That's so sad." We stood up and began following Pandamon as he continued his story, "Most of the ShadowToyAgumon are kept busy with their painful task of keeping the island afloat. With any luck, you two won't run into the creatures on your way through the castle." Okay, that was a little much. "Yeah? And just when are we supposed to get to this castle again, **Pandamon**?" I growled. Darren turned his head to look at me, "Calm down, Lydia." He stopped and pointed to a large flight of stairs, "This staircase will steer you straight inside." Darren grinned as I began climbing the stairs, "Thanks, Pandamon!" Pandamon shook his head as I paused to wait for the 'leader', "Don't thank me. Just stop the ShadowToyAgumon."

* * *

**Darren's POV;**

I smirked as we walked out of the caves into the castle courtyard, "Lavender castle, here we come!" Suddenly, the army of the ShadowToyAgumon jumped in front of us, blocking us from entering the castle.

Evil hackers turned ToyAgumon into ShadowToyAgumon. Their special attack is Plastic Blaze, but the pain it causes sure isn't fun and games.

_Really?_

We stood, glaring at the ShadowToyAgumon as they stood, probably waiting for us to make the first move. "Are they just gonna **stand** there?" I asked. Suddenly, one opened its mouth as wide as it possibly could, "Plastic Blaze!" Lydia and I cried out in shock and quickly jumped out of the way as the attack hit the wall just above the door we had come through, "I guess not!" Lydia grabbed her D-Tector and turned to look at me, "Then how about we don't just stand here either!"  
"Execute! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Lobomon!"  
"Agunimon!"  
I yelled in rage as fire surrounded the lower part of my arms, "No one's getting revenge on any kids! Pyro Tornado!" I threw the flaming balls of fire at them, expecting their fractal codes to immediately appear, but the second they fell down, another group, double their size, blocked the castle, "Okay, not so easy!" I gasped as they jumped on top of each other and formed a large, army tank, "Cute. But what can a **toy** tank do?" It remained still for a moment, and then fired in my direction. I yelled in shock and half-jumped, half-was thrown out of the way. Lobomon ran forwards and grabbed her light saver, "I've got it!" She jumped over the tank and used her 'Lobo Kendo' attack on the back left corner, causing it to glow and disassemble back into the ShadowToyAgumon. "Show off! I could've done that!" I said, glaring at her back. She placed the light saver back into the scabbard and turned around, "Yeah, but you didn't." I smirked as the ShadowToyAgumon jumped on top of one another again, forming a giant robot, "Yeah, but I'd have done a better job! Sure you don't need a little help there?" She turned around, confused, and gasped as its fist lunged towards her. I ran forwards as she jumped out of the way, "Why don't you take me on!" Suddenly, the remaining ShadowToyAgumon jumped on top of one another, forming a second giant robot. I gulped, "Oh, man. You sure are a lot bigger up close!" He swung his leg out at me, but I jumped back out of the way, "How are we supposed to defeat these guys?!" Aoife growled and dodged a flailing hand, "Follow my lead!" She began running towards me and, half-way there, jumped up. I copied her and, as the robots moved to punch us, we pushed off one another, landing behind the robots as their fists met one another and they broke apart, their fractal codes appearing. I grabbed my D-Tector and glared at them, "I hate it when toys go bad! Fractal code, digitise!" Lydia growled as her own robots fractal code appeared, "Time to be purified by the Light! Fractal code, digitise!" We quickly de-digivolved and ran up the tower steps as the normal ToyAgumon fell to the floor. "Hurry! We have to get John before it's too late!" Lydia cried, reaching the top floor. "Hang on, John!" I yelled as shouts and ominous music became clear through the door.  
"Take that!"  
"Ugh!"  
"And **that**!"  
"Quit kicking me!"  
I gasped in horror as I caught up to Lydia, "They're fighting!" We frowned at one another, nodded, and threw open the door to find… John playing a video game with the normal Monzaemon and Harry blushing and putting away the violin. John grinned and punched the air with his fist, "I win! I'm the champion of the world!" We anime sweatdropped and Lydia took a step towards John, "John! What're you doing?" John laughed and turned to look at us, "What does it look like?" Lydia gasped in shock as he, Monzaemon and Harry stood up. "But… we thought you were in trouble!" I cried. Harry shook his head, "Nah. I took care of that about half an hour ago." John nodded and Monzaemon smiled apologetically, "I know. I'm really sorry about that, guys. But then my Lord purified me so I'm back to normal and this little guy played with me! He's a good kid." Harry blushed and looked down at his new trainers as Monzaemon said 'my Lord', making me wonder what was going on. "Your **Lord**? Harry, what did you do?" Lydia asked accusingly. I glared at her as Harry grinned slightly, "Oh, nothing special. Just saved John, purified Monzaemon and… oh, yeah. Found out I'm the Prince of the digital world." My jaw dropped as I stared at him, my eyes widening as the look on his face became almost comical. John and Monzaemon laughed, doubling over. "You-you're expressions!" John stuttered, "Ar-ar-are **priceless**!" Monzaemon nodded and rubbed John's head as the younger boy stopped laughing, "So can we keep him?" I groaned and turned away.

* * *

**John's POV;**

"But why can't we keep him?" I whined as we walked out of the castle. Lydia and Darren stopped as a panda-like digimon walked up to them, "Fantastic friends! To make up for their monstrous mistakes, the ToyAgumon insist on taking you off the island." We all grinned, but I was secretly disappointed I couldn't play with the toys some more. Harry looked sadly at the violin and made to put it down, but Monzaemon stopped him. "You keep it, my Lord. As a thank you gift for saving me," Monzaemon said, making Harry blush, **again**. _He really has a problem with being the centre of attention. _I grinned as we were led to an airplane and took off, "Awesome!" Darren turned his head to look at me, "Hey, John? How come you weren't scared?" I raised one eyebrow, "Well, I'm not really scared of airplanes."  
"I **meant** when you were captured by that evil teddy!" He said, grinning widely at my joke. I smiled, "Well, at first I was so scared I almost wet myself, but then Harry came in and saved me and I realised Monzaemon just wanted to play!" Lydia laughed, actually **laughed**, "Only a kid would see it that way. Thanks for helping him, Harry." I raised an eyebrow. _She actually __**thanked**__ Harry? Whatever Darren did, he's a genius! _Harry, equally shocked, nodded in reply and turned his head to look out over the river, "Hey, isn't that Arlene, Aaron and Chloe?" Before we could look, the ToyAgumon grinned, "As a special thanks, how about a little excitement?" He began to do loop-de-loops in the air, making us all scream. "Oh, maybe I **am** scared of airplanes!" I yelled. Lydia growled, clinging onto the edge of the plane, "This is the ship all over again!" Harry turned a tiny bit pale, "I'd rather not think about that!" Lydia laughed again as the plane steadied and the ToyAgumon pointed ahead, "If you look down now, you can see the forest!" Harry, Darren and I exclaimed in delight, but Lydia frowned, "What? It's just trees." _And she's back again._

* * *

**Me: ***screams and ducks to avoid chainsaw but trips over kendo stick* AAAAHHH! TRANSFER! TRANSFER!  
**Weapons: ***disappear*  
**Arlene: **Huh?  
**Aoife: **Dammit!  
**Both: ***Walk back into their own room and shove Harry out*  
**Harry: **Wait! My violin!  
**Violin:** *gets thrown out of door and caught by Harry who turns and glares at me*  
**Me: **Well, I'd **love** to stay and chat, but I need to go convince John to do the next disclaimer.  
**John: **Okay.  
**Me: **Ummm... I also... have a thing! Please review!


	9. Chapter 8: The Hardship of Friendship

**John: **Last time, on digimon; frontier 02, Harry found out he was Prince of the digital world when he, Darren, Lydia and I got stranded on a floating island, and Lydia began to understand little kids.  
**Me: **Just make it all about that episode, why don't ya?  
**John: ***shrug* Okay. Harry also got a violin and I was kidnapped by a teddy bear and-  
**Me: **I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!  
**John: ***shrinks back slightly* Okay! Okay! Geez. No need to go psycho on me  
**Me: ***hides axe behind my back* Why do you think I'd do that?  
**John: ***looks at me suspiciously* I hope you rated this T. You're way to violent.  
**Me: ***looks at axe* Hm. Good point. Cut to the commercial!  
**Justin Bieber:** Who would pay me fifty bucks to get attacked by the legendary warriors?  
**Me:** *hands him five hundred bucks* I'll see you in hell, Bieber! Mwahahaha!

* * *

**Chapter Eight  
The Hardship of Friendship**

* * *

**Chloe's POV;**

"The entrance to the forest kingdom should be just at the end of this field!" Bokomon announced, reading a page of the large book he always carried. I groaned, "Are you sure this isn't a jungle?" Bokomon blinked, not looking up from the book as we continued walking, "One must remain positive, one must remain calm, one must-"  
"Can you get off my head?! You're really heavy for a little guy!" Aaron complained as Bokomon looked down, as if surprised to find that he was standing on Aaron's head. Bokomon rolled his eyes and jumped onto Neemon, "Party pooper!" Aaron grinned, glad to be relieved of his burden, "Don't worry, C. I'm sure we'll find the way. You wanna know why?" Arlene rolled her eyes, "What am I, non-existent? I'm here too, you know!" Aaron punched the air, ignoring Arlene, "Cause we're fighters, that's why! We don't give up and we never quit!" Arlene and I rolled our eyes again and glanced at each other, shrugging. Suddenly, Aaron stopped, "Okay, I need a breather." I smirked, "What happened to that 'fighting spirit'?" Aaron turned slightly pale as he rooted around in his pockets, looking for a chocolate bar as he began walking again, "I got hungry."  
"We'll take a break when we get out of this field!"  
"If I make it that far!"  
"Stop exaggerating, Aaron!" Arlene groaned, facepalming. "We're all hungry, and you have lots of chocolate to eat, so why are **you** complaining?" He was about to answer when, suddenly, he fell, sprawled on the floor, groaning. "What now?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips. _He is **such** a drama queen! _"Here," I reached down a hand to help him up as he looked up, blushing, his mouth hanging open. He was about to take it when something small, round and orange with a horn on its head shot out of the grass, skidding to a halt as it saw us. Aaron gave a yell of terror as he stared at it, "What the hell **is** that?" The creature gasped as a loud voice and cactus-like creature emerged from the grass behind him, "Tsunomon! Get back here at once, young mon! I've had enough of your shenanigans for one day!" Seeing us, the larger digimon gasped, one hand over its mouth, "Goodness gracious! What a lovely surprise! You're humans!" The smaller digimon's, Tsunomon, eyes widened and he blushed in surprise, "Human **beings**?" We all nodded and the larger digimon grinned, "Would you like to come back to my school for a bit?" I looked at JP, who was nodding furiously, and at Arlene, who shrugged and mouthed 'Sure, why not?' at me, so I nodded and we followed the cactus-digimon through the tall grass, it grasping Tsunomon by the small horn on its head.

* * *

**Arlene's POV**

"I didn't know digimon had to go to school!" Chloe exclaimed as poor Tsunomon struggled against the digimon who introduced herself as Togemon's grip until I took him in my arms, holding him carefully, but firmly. "That's where they learn the skills they'll need as full-grown digimon," Bokomon explained, still riding on Neemon's back. Aaron raised one eyebrow as he took a small bite of a chocolate bar, "What kind of skills? Eating and napping?" I shook my head and tuned out both Bokomon's reply and Togemon's continuous exclamations of how she'd never seen live humans before. _I wonder how Harry is. Wait… why am I more worried about him than Darren, John and Aoife? It__'s not like we're dating or anything! _I blushed slightly as we walked out from the long grass and Aaron said it was written in the stars that Chloe was with him. "You know, I'm still here," I muttered, once again, ignored, as Togemon pointed out the digimon school. My jaw dropped as I stared at the partly run-down, shack like building. "**That****'s **it? It looks like the house my gran lived in when she was five! My **bedroom** is bigger than that!" Chloe elbowed him lightly in the stomach, "Aaron! Don't be mean!" As we entered the school, Togemon brought a group of small, in-training digimon out and they sang a small welcome song, "_Welcome humans, to our school! Where we learn and play all day! We think our teacher__'s really cool! So we hope you'll want to stay! Welcome humans, to our school! Where we learn the digi rule! Could you stay? That would be cool!_" Chloe laughed as they finished their song and crouched down next to a digimon that strongly resembled a miniature snowman head, "You are so **cute**!" The digimon began quivering slightly and shot several shards of ice at the unsuspecting Chloe, freezing her left side. Togemon ran up to it, waving her arms frantically, "YukimiBotamon! If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times; don't freeze our guests! I'm so sorry!" Thawing out, Chloe smiled awkwardly and turned her head toward Togemon, "Oh, it's alright." I crouched down next to the digimon, "Poor little guy. Did she frighten you?" The still-quivering YukimiBotamon nodded slightly, "Yeah, just a little bit." Tsunomon smirked as I grinned at the YukimiBotamon, "I was all on my own when I met these guys, and I wasn't scared one little bit!" I raised one eyebrow as the rest of the in-training digimon chanted 'whatever' and ran off. _That__'s a little odd. _

* * *

**Aaron's POV**

1:00: Story time  
I groaned as I walked into the classroom (I had been changing into the more comfortable outfit in my bag and left my old clothes by the stream) and Togemon announced story time and called me up to the small desk in front of the digimon to tell them about the human world. _But… I can't tell stories! _I pointed to myself as she called me the 'big, red human', "Um… my name's Aaron." She nodded and smiled apologetically, gesturing her hand towards the digimon, all of whom were looking at us excitedly, bar Tsunomon, "Well, Professor Aaron, the class is yours!" My eyes widened, "Did you say, 'professor'? I'm no professor! I'm only in second year!" Chloe smirked and elbowed me lightly, "Oh, go on, Aaron. Your class awaits you!" I blushed and walked up to the desk, almost robotically, smiling awkwardly at the digimon. _Alright, just stay calm. It__'s not that hard! They're just a bunch of kids! They don't even have **feet**! Here goes nothing. _"So… um… the human… world… has a lot of cool things, like um… scarves to wrap around your necks, if you had any," I stuttered, producing a line of scarves as the digimon, Chloe and Arlene anime fell backwards. Bokomon hopped onto the desk in front of me, shielding me from view of the digimon, much to my relief, "These children need leadership! I am Bokomon. I am here to talk to you about the responsibility-" _Yawn. Okay, I don't know about those guys, but I have **no **interest in… whatever he's talking about. _I grinned as the bored in-training digimon, once again, bar Tsunomon, ran over to us and began jumping up and down until we played with them, no one paying any attention to Bokomon.

* * *

**Chloe's POV**

Recess  
I laughed as I slid down the wooden slide, three digimon in my lap, Aaron chatted to another four and Arlene watched Tsunomon, a worried expression on her face. Aaron looked up as the Nyaromon he was holding jumped up and hit him lightly with its tail and he 'fell' backwards, allowing the other digimon to jump on him. Looking up at Tsunomon, who was sitting on a boulder, he grinned, "Hey, Tsunomon! You wanna play?" The digimon bouncing on Aaron stopped as Tsunomon turned around, a smile on his face, "No way!" The digimon immediately ran back to the school, leaving Aaron sprawled on the ground and Tsunomon glaring sourly at the grass below him. "Fine! I didn't even want to play! Digi wrestling's for babies!" Arlene and I walked over to Aaron as Tsunomon ran behind the rock, "Great going, Aaron!" He raised one eyebrow and stood up, "What? I was just trying to help! He looked so lonely…"  
"Some people **like **being alone!" I yelled, clenching my fists, surprising both Arlene and Aaron. I gasped slightly and crossed my arms as Arlene put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

* * *

**Arlene's POV**

2:00: P.E.: Soccer  
_Soccer's a team sport, so this time, Tsunomon **has** to be included, right? _I sighed as I watched the two teams run onto the playing field. _I wonder why none of the digimon like him, and Togemon's not doing anything to help either. _I watched Tsunomon carefully as Togemon blew the whistle and he chased Kapurimon, who had the ball, down the field, yelling for her to pass to him. "I can barely make out the ball from the kids!" Aaron muttered, half to Chloe, half to himself. _Tsunomon and I are a lot alike. I've been pretty much ignored since we got split up. _I frowned as, although Tsunomon was open, Kapurimon kicked the ball right into the goalies waiting… tail. Nyaromon hit the ball towards Tsunomon, who grinned and ran for it, but Kapurimon, although they were on the same team, side-tackled him, shoving him out of the way. Tsunomon cried out in pain and glared at Kapurimon, "What'd you do that for? We're on the same team!" _Okay, definitely **not** my imagination anymore. _All of a sudden, tears started pouring out of Kapurimon's eyes as Togemon ran over to her, "Kapurimon! Are you okay?" I growled and stalked forward as Tsunomon frowned guiltily, "You have **got** to be **kidding**! Did you not **see** how Kapurimon tackled him? I may not know much about sports, but I know enough to know that it was a foul! In the human world, she'd be sent off, not smothered in kisses!" Tsunomon frowned again as everyone, Aaron and Chloe especially, stared, dumbfounded, at me, "It's fine. I'm… I'm used to it." I glared at Togemon and walked back to Aaron and Chloe as she said she knew exactly how Tsunomon felt, "I guess everyone thought I was stuck up, cause I lived in France for a bit. I had a few team-mate friends, but they weren't very close." Aaron gasped, "Wow. You lived in France? Since when?"  
"Since I was a little kid. We only moved back to Ireland last year."  
"Sounds really cool!" Chloe snorted slightly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, "Tell that to my classmates! And I'm not gonna act the way they want me to just to be popular. It wouldn't feel right." I nodded, surprising the two, "You're right, Chloe. I have the same problem, but I'm not on a running team." Chloe raised her eyebrows, confused, "But… you're the warrior of **friendship**! You shouldn't have any trouble making friends." I shrugged as Togemon ended the game and blew her whistle again, "Harry's the warrior of Harmony, but that doesn't mean he doesn't get angry every now and again." As the two glanced at one another, I followed the digimon inside and Togemon walked into the kitchen.

* * *

**Aaron's POV**

Lunch  
"Okay! You know the drill! Open wide," Togemon cried, a hair net on her head and holding a large pot of, what looked like, dumplings. _Um… okay. _I raised one eyebrow, but opened my mouth, feeling like an idiot. "Does that include us?" Arlene hissed. Chloe shrugged, one eyebrow raised, "I… guess so." Togemon threw the dumplings into the air and used her 'Togemon Jab' attack to hit them towards us and the baby digimon, but somehow managed to avoid hitting them towards both Arlene and Tsunomon. Glancing at Arlene's disappointed face, and Tsunomon's hungry one, I grabbed the next two that came our way and handed them one each, much to Arlene's delight, but Tsunomon just ignored it. I sighed and walked around the chair so we were face-to-face, "Come on, Tsunomon. I bet I can cheer you up!" I raised my voice slightly so everyone could hear me and rooted around in my pocket, "Hey! I'll give whoever's nice to Tsunomon a bar of chocolate!" Chloe hit me lightly on the shoulder, glaring more fiercely than I'd seen her in the past five days I'd known her, "Are you crazy? You can't bribe them to make Tsunomon some friends!" I raised one eyebrow as Arlene facepalmed, "Why not?" Chloe glared at me again, fists clenched, "Because… because it's not the right way to make friends!" Tsunomon sighed and stared the ground angrily, "Thanks a lot! Now I'm the freak those guys won't play with, even if you paid them!" Kapurimon whipped around, her tail bristling, "We wouldn't play with Tsunomon anyway! He's not like us!" Nyaromon nodded in agreement, frowning, "That's right!" The other digimon added their nods and hums of approval and Tsunomon jumped off his seat and bounced out the door. Arlene growled and glared at the digimon, her eyes glinting dangerously, "That was uncalled for! Tsunomon didn't do anything to you! If you ask me, you're right! He's not like you, because Tsunomon's not that mean!" I sighed as she ran out of the school, following Tsunomon, and turned to Chloe, "Should we follow them?" She glared at me again, 'hmph'ed and stalked out of the school as I shoved the chocolate back into my pockets and followed her out.

* * *

**Chloe's POV**

"Tsunomon! Come back!" I cried, sprinting to try and catch up to him and Arlene. Despite the handicap of not having legs, Tsunomon was pretty fast, and was easily outrunning even Arlene. "Tsunomon, please!" I yelled again, pushing my legs to go faster as he threw back his head slightly, "I just want to be left alone! Leave me **alone**!" I growled and inclined my head towards Aaron, "Nice going! You're plan to get him friends backfired and now he's running away for the second time today!" I slowed to a halt as both he and Arlene disappeared from view, "Tsunomon! Arlene!" Aaron, bending over to catch his breath, looked up, "Oh, come on, kid! Let me make it up to you!" Hearing a cry of terror and Arlene yelling Tsunomon's name, we took off in that direction, almost immediately spotting the in-training digimon cowering in front of a large, black-and-grey, reptile-like digimon. Arlene growled and stretched her arms out so that she was a sort of barrier between Tsunomon and the reptile digimon my D-Tector identified as BlackGabumon, "Leave him alone! He's just a kid!" BlackGabumon growled and took a step forward, lowering his head slightly, "I don't care **what** he is! He's on **my **territory, and no human is going to stop me defending it! Petit Fire!" I gasped as Arlene was thrown backwards with a slight cry of pain, wincing as she hit the ground, and Tsunomon began shaking violently, his body glowing with a radiant, white light. "You're gonna pay for that!" he snarled as the light completely enveloped him, "Tsunomon digivolve to… Gabumon!" The purple-and-white furred, reptile digimon glared at his almost-identical opponent, sending shivers down my spine as I ran towards Arlene, who pushed herself into a sitting position. "Blue Blaster!" Gabumon cried, his attack hitting BlackGabumon square in his right eye, sending the black-and-grey digimon childishly howling into the bushes. I anime sweatdropped. _Seriously? One hit and he runs crying for his mommy? _Arlene grinned as the light cocooned Gabumon and he was reverted back to Tsunomon, "Thanks, Tsunomon! You saved me!" Tsunomon shrugged and leant up against a rock, his eyes closed, "Whatever."

* * *

**Arlene's POV**

"Hey, Tsunomon. I didn't know you could digivolve!" Aaron exclaimed as we began walking back towards the school. Tsunomon blushed, glaring at the ground, his nonchalant air immediately evaporating, "I wish I couldn't. So far, it's been nothing but a royal pain in the neck!" Aaron grinned down at the small digimon, "Come on, you don't mean that! Digivolving's awesome!" Tsunomon stopped, looking at the ground, his eyebrows furrowed into a sad frown, but his brown eyes wide, "Yes, I do. A while back, when I had friends, our soccer ball got stuck in a tree and no one could reach it, but I digivolved and got it down, thinking they'd be happy for me, but they were **afraid**. Ever since, they barely talk to me, let alone play with me." He growled and glared even more fiercely at the ground, "I digivolved to help them, but all they saw was a freaky monster, and they were afraid." I crouched down next to him, smiling, "I wasn't afraid of you." He glanced up at me, surprised, as I continued, "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't saved me from that BlackGabumon!" _I would have digivolved and purified him, but Tsunomon doesn__'t need to know that. _Aaron raised one eyebrow in confusion, "But you could have digiv-" He was cut off as Chloe elbowed him, deadpanning, which is less than I'd have done if I was within reach of him. Tsunomon smiled slightly, "Really?" I nodded, grinning cheerfully, "Yeah! You saved my life!" Tsunomon blushed as Chloe suggested going back to the school and Aaron grinned, yelling something about getting more snacks, when we heard a series of terrified screams from the direction of the school. Tsunomon jumped about a foot in the air and began bouncing in its direction with Aaron, Chloe and I following closely. Gasping, I looked down the cliff as a large, black-and-purple wolf with a large mane advanced on the terrified in-training digimon, Bokomon, Neemon and Togemon, his pelt bristling furiously. Tsunomon shook his head angrily, glaring at the wolf, "That's BlackGarurumon, which means…" he froze, his eyes glazed over with terror, "BlackGabumon must have digivolved!" I groaned, "Him **again**?" Tsunomon nodded and was about to run down the small path to the school when Aaron grabbed him, "Tsunomon, it was great when you saved Arlene and all, but you can't handle this guy! Leave it to us!" Chloe raised one eyebrow, glancing away from BlackGarurumon to look at Aaron, "Do we spirit evolve?" Aaron nodded, grabbing his red-and-denim D-Tector, "We do."  
"Execute! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Kazemon!"  
"Beetlemon!"  
"Flasinamon!"  
I thought I heard Tsunomon mutter, 'No way! She's the princess?' under his breath as he stared at us, but ignored the feeling of confusion as we flew down to face BlackGarurumon. "Leave the kids alone! They didn't do anything to you!" Kazemon cried as BlackGarurumon lunged at her. "Who cares? Lunch is the same, no matter what data you eat!" BlackGarurumon howled, firing his 'Howling Blaster' attack at her, easily knocking her out of the way and turning back towards the in-training digimon, all of whom, bar Kapurimon, who had fallen, and Tsunomon, who was trying to help her, had run into the school to hide. I let out a cry of rage and placed myself between the two baby digimon and BlackGarurumon, alongside Beetlemon and Kazemon, "Don't you **dare** touch them! Meteor Surge!" I growled as BlackGarurumon dodged my black-and-gold blast of energy, a look of surprise mixed with horror on his face, as he dodged both of Beetlemon and Kazemon's attacks as well. "How can this be? The Princess has been revived!" I frowned. _Princess. That__'s the second time since we spirit evolved. There is no way that this is a coincidence. _He smirked and glared at me, "Howling Laser!" Taken by surprise by the sudden attack, I had to jump up to avoid being hit. Aaron and Chloe, however, were not as lucky and, as the attack hit them, they de-digivolved. I gasped as BlackGarurumon moved towards Tsunomon and Kapurimon again, and began to fly towards them, but Tsunomon was faster. "Tsunomon digivolve to… Gabumon!" He grabbed a half-scared, half-grateful Kapurimon and ran into the school, her in his large paws as I glared at BlackGarurumon, "That's it! You are so going to pay for that! Aqua Barrage!" _How am I using a water attack? I thought I had the spirit of friendship!_ I smirked as BlackGarurumon's fractal code appeared and I walked forward, seeing as both Chloe and Aaron had de-digivolved, my D-Tector in hand, "You're lucky I don't have a newspaper, doggie. Fractal code, digitise!" _Did I just say what I think I said?_ As BlackGarurumon's data was absorbed by my D-Tector and he turned into an egg, I de-digivolved, breathing slightly heavier than usual, but less exhausted than I was the last time I digivolved. All of the in-training digimon and Togemon were staring at me, wide-eyed, mouths hanging open. "What?" I asked, one eyebrow raised, as Aaron and Chloe walked up to me, equally confused. Togemon took a step forwards, bowing slightly, "My Lady. Thank you for saving our humble school. If I had known it was you-"  
"Wait… you're **Lady**?! What are you talking about?" I cried, cutting her off. Togemon looked up (or down) at me, surprised, "You mean you don't know?" I shook my head and she grinned, "It's time for another story time!"

4:00: Story Time Again  
Togemon coughed slightly as we sat down next to Gabumon, who, for once, was listening to Togemon intently, "Long ago, before the battle with Lucemon, two legendary warriors ruled the digital world with balance and compassion. These two warriors were AncientEkikimon and AncientShurimon." I frowned slightly; confused as to why I felt like the name 'AncientEkikimon' should mean something to me. Once again, Togemon cleared her throat, glancing at me as she continued, "These two warriors were the ones who chose the three, Great, Celestial Angels to rule in their place after the battle with Lucemon, who, consumed by power, tried to enslave all of digi-kind, before they were re-converted back into the spirits you humans now possess. AncientShurimon and AncientEkikimon both had control over five of the ten elements, as well as their own, AncientShurimon possessing Light, Flame, Thunder, Metal and Earth while AncientEkikimon had power over Darkness, Wind, Ice, Wood and Water." _Did she just say water? And… darkness? _I thought as Togemon paused. _I__'m pretty sure that Meteor Surge attack was darkness and Aqua Barrage was definitely water! _"AncientEkikimon was the warrior of friendship, while AncientShurimon was the warrior of Harmony and most digimon considered them to be the Prince and Princess of the digital world," Togemon continued, her eyes piercing through me, giving me the feeling that she could see what I was thinking. I gulped slightly as Aaron, Chloe, Bokomon, Neemon, Gabumon and the in-training digimon all turned to look at me, "Does… does that mean…" I trailed off, unable to complete my sentence. But Bokomon did it for me, "You mean to say that Arlene is Princess of the digital world?" Togemon and the in-training digimon nodded as Chloe's eyes widened and Aaron's jaw dropped slightly. I laughed slightly, "Good one! You almost had me convinced there!" Bokomon shook his head, "Arlene, this is no joke! You are the Princess, and Harry must be the Prince!" I shook my head. _No way! How can this be happening? _

* * *

**Aaron's POV**

I grinned as the in-training digimon bounced around Gabumon, saying how awesome he was. "You mean… you're not scared of me anymore?" he asked, overjoyed when the in-training digimon shook their heads.  
"Why would we be?"  
"You saved Kapurimon!"  
"You saved **all** of us!"  
I glanced around, noticing that Kapurimon wasn't with the others, and found her standing shyly at the edge of the group. "G-Gabumon?" she said, glancing down at the ground as Gabumon looked at her, "I want to… to thank you… for saving me. And… I'm… sorry for… being mean to you. I hope… you can forgive me." Gabumon grinned slightly and shrugged, "Sure! What are friends for?" Kapurimon jumped slightly, her eyes widening, "You'd… consider me… your friend?" Gabumon nodded and Kapurimon smiled widely, "Thanks Gabumon! When I digivolve, I hope I'll be as cool as you are!" Gabumon's face became serious for a moment, "Kapurimon…" but he ruined the moment by placing a paw on his forehead, "You're making me blush!" _He **can** blush? _I grinned and both Arlene and Chloe giggled, grinning at both me and one another.

* * *

**Chloe's POV**

We all stared at the small boat in front of us. It would barely hold all of us, and if it hit a rock, it would be done for. "We made this for you in craft class! We hope it will help you," Togemon explained. I mentally anime sweatdropped as Bokomon thanked her and we climbed into the boat. I grinned and turned around to face the digimon, "It was great to meet you!" Aaron grinned at Tsunomon, who had just de-digivolved, "And you're not afraid of digivolving anymore, are you Tsunomon?" Tsunomon shook his head, grinning, "Nope! I'm gonna keep digivolving and someday I'll be as strong as you guys!" We laughed and nodded, waving as the wind caught the sail, pushing us towards the lake, "See you around!"  
"Thanks for everything!"  
"Thanks for the **snacks**!"  
I shook my head and turned to face Arlene, my hair blowing in the wind as Aaron sat next to us, "So, **Princess**, how do you feel?" Arlene shrugged, giving me a withering glance, "About the same as half an hour ago. Confused, missing my dogs, and wondering why we were called here." I reclined slightly, surprised, "You don't feel at all different?" When Arlene shook her head, I sighed and rolled my eyes, "You're a **princess**! Most girls would **die** to be in your place! Didn't you ever want to be a princess when you were younger?" Arlene shook her head again, pushing her glasses up her nose, blushing slightly, "Actually, I was one of those kids who'd rather go to Hogwarts or… or find Paradise!" I raised one eyebrow, confused. "Didn't you ever watch Harry Potter or Wolf's Rain?" She asked, exasperated. I shook my head and she seemed about to explain both concepts to me, when Aaron spoke up, probably not wanting to have to go through several hours of explanations, "I'm glad the digimon changed their minds about Tsunomon." I nodded, "And they're not the only ones." When he raised an eyebrow, I grinned, "I think I've changed my mind about you, Aaron. You're not bad." He blushed slightly and turned away as Arlene and Bokomon glanced up. "We've found our comrades!" Bokomon yelled, pointing up, where I could see the small figures of Darren, John, Lydia and Harry… floating towards us. A few minutes later, they landed in the boat, Darren and John trying to tell us that Harry, who was carrying what looked like a violin, was a Prince, and Aaron trying to tell them, at the same time, that Arlene was a Princess, Lydia rolling her eyes and asking Bokomon how long would it be until we got to the Forest Terminal, and Harry and Arlene laughing at Aaron, Darren and John's failed attempts to get either message across. Seeing that they seemed more sane than the three boys, and Aoife wanted to be on her own, I began to walk over to them, but paused as I heard their conversation. "So, you're a Princess then?" Harry asked, re-adjusting the strap on the violin case. Arlene blushed slightly, "Yeah. And what about you? Prince of the digital world. That's pretty big too!"  
"Yeah. I'm just glad we get to… rule it together."  
"Me too- wait… did you just say… together?" Harry blushed and looked away, nodding once. Arlene grinned and hugged him subtly, unnoticed by everyone but me, "I'm glad I'm not the only one." Harry smiled softly at her and seemed about to kiss her when… "Arlene! You're a **princess**?!" Darren cried, causing the two royals to almost fall out of the boat. I groaned, mentally facepalming. _They had to understand one another **now**, didn__'t they? _Arlene nodded and smiled at Harry, who grinned widely at her, his brown eyes full of warmth, and the two started a conversation with Lydia and myself, not wanting us to feel left out. I sighed softly as John joined in, telling us about the huge ship. _Oh well. Tomorrow's another day for them. _

* * *

**Arlene: **Doggie? Newspaper? **Really**? And why would you break up a kiss between Harry and I?**  
Me: ***shrug and blush* I couldn't think of anything!  
**Arlene: ***glares* Hey, John! Can I borrow Kumamon's bazooka for a minute?  
**Me: **Um... I have to go!  
**John: **Sure *throws gun to Arlene, who grins maniacally and points it at me*  
**Me: ***runs screaming into another room* SH!T! PLEASE R&R... Wait... I have an axe! *grins and turns around, holding axe above head*  
**Me and Arlene: ***run at each other, brandishing weapons*  
**John: ***blocks camera* The following scene has been blocked because of more... sensitive readers.  
**Behind him:** *screams of rage, pain and insanity*  
**John: **Um... I'm gonna need back up here. Lydia? Darren! Harry! Aaron? HELP!


	10. Chapter 9: The Crown of Harmony

**Me: **Hi, again! I have an idea, and those of you who read the latest chapters of my last three stories know what I'm on about. Harry, explain.  
**Harry: **Hey! I'm a Prince! I don't have to take orders from you anymore!  
**Me: **Oh, okay. I assume you don't want to go out with Arlene then?  
**Harry: **kojiluvr wants you readers to interview us characters. There's an example at the end of the story, and for those of you who want to do it, simply think of five questions and a character you want to ask them (from any of her running stories), send her a private message or review with those details in it and simply check the next chapter!  
**Me: **Good.  
**Harry: **Am I done yet?  
**Me: **Nope. You still need to do the disclaimer.  
**Harry: ***growl* No way!  
**Me: **Ya know, I'm pretty sure Darren will be developing a crush on Arlene soon...  
**Harry: **kojiluvr doesn't own digimon, the plot (except for the Prince and Princess of the digital world part) or Darren Hughes.  
**Me: **Good.  
**Harry: **Am I done yet?  
**Me: **Nope. You still need to do the disclaimer.  
**Harry: ***growl* No way!  
**Me: **Ya know, I'm pretty sure Darren will be developing a crush on Arlene soon...  
**Harry: **kojiluvr doesn't own digimon, the plot (except for the Prince and Princess of the digital world part) or Darren Hughes.  
**Me: **Good.

* * *

**Chapter Nine  
The Crown of Harmony**

* * *

"I believe the forest kingdom begins just past that track," Bokomon announced, pointing towards the raised track several miles from where the group of nine were standing.

Darren sighed and glanced at the track, shielding his eyes against the sun, "That's pretty big." He glanced sideways at Lydia, who had agreed to stay with the group after she, Darren, Harry and John had parachuted onto the boat Chloe, Arlene and Aaron had been riding, although she wasn't to happy about it. Most of them guessed Arlene had talked her into it.

"How much farther do we have to walk to get there?" Aaron complained, glancing up at Bokomon, who was perched on the branch of a tree beside Neemon.

"Don't worry. You should only have to walk a little bit more."  
"A **little **bit? The last 'little bit' lasted an entire day!"

Harry groaned, facepalming as he clutched the violin case, "Aaron, whining about it isn't going to get us there any faster."

Ignoring him, Aaron continued to lag behind with John as everyone else ran ahead, probably not wanting to spend a second more walking than possible, "Can't we stop for dinner? I'm **starving**!"

John nodded in agreement, making puppy-dog eyes, "We didn't even have **breakfast**!"

Darren nodded in agreement, turning to face Lydia who had been unofficially named second-in-command, "I guess it'd be a good idea to set up camp here for the night."

Chloe glanced towards Lydia as well, trying to keep her eyelids from drooping, "It's been a long day, Lydia. We deserve a break."

Lydia glanced, one eyebrow raised, at Arlene, who nodded, "Whatever."

John grinned, his face lighting up as he plopped onto the grass, "You mean we're stopping?"

Aaron grinned, sitting down beside him, "Does that mean we get to eat?"

* * *

"Hey, Chloe! Check this out!" Arlene exclaimed, picking up a green apple and handing it to her friend, who lowered it to Bokomon's level so he could inspect it.

"Oh! A meat apple!" he exclaimed as Chloe stood up straighter again.

"Meat apple?" Everyone asked in unison.

Bokomon nodded and pointed to the apple, which was now resting in the palm of Chloe's hand, "Yes, they're very nutritious, actually. Each one has the flavour of a different meat."

Shrugging, Darren glanced at Arlene, "Where'd you get that?"

Arlene shrugged and turned to face John and Aaron, "It was just lying on the ground. There has to be a tree somewhere nearby, right? Bokomon, Harry, Chloe? Will you find some more?"

Harry nodded and began to follow Chloe as Neemon asked Bokomon if he could go, the small argument ending in Bokomon dragging him along by the waistband of his pants.

"Hey, wait up, guys!" John cried, running after his friends.

Arlene grinned and turned to look at Lydia, who was shaking her head slightly as if to say 'why did I let you talk me into joining these guys?', "Um… should we get some firewood? I don't know about you guys, but I don't really want to eat or sleep in the cold."

She and Darren nodded in agreement and the group of three began walking the opposite way, followed by Aaron who kept asking if he had to carry anything heavy.

John gasped slightly and glanced towards the trees as he heard a slight, rustling sound.

"John? Are you alright?" Chloe asked, leaning towards the younger boy slightly as Harry focused his gaze on where John was staring.

"I… I could have sworn I heard something flying by," John stuttered, glancing around wildly.

Harry shrugged, not seeing anything, and turned back to face the two, "I can't see anything. It was probably just you're imagination, John."

John shook his head and Chloe grinned, her eyebrows raised, speaking sarcastically, "Maybe it was a monster!"

"Yeah! I see it!" John cried out, running in the direction they had been walking in a few minutes ago, causing Harry and Chloe to look up sharply. "The tree!"

Chloe's eyes lit up as she gaped at the tree while Harry followed John, "Incroyable! There's so many!"

Harry nodded as they skidded to a halt just beneath the tree, "But… how are we supposed to bring back so many?"

Chloe grinned and pulled off her hoodie, tying the arms together into a knot so it formed a sort of net, revealing her grey t-shirt with a pink hem and small, butterfly-print, "Voilà!"

John frowned slightly as Harry climbed onto the first branch of the tree and Chloe handed him her jumper, "Won't you need it?"

The black-haired girl shook her head, smiling, "No, it's warm enough, and that jumper's getting too small for me anyway."

* * *

Darren sighed as a spark finally appeared beneath the stick he was furiously rubbing between his hands, "Am I done?"

Lydia, who was on her knees beside him, nodded, "Yeah. I'll take it from here." She leaned closer, blowing gently on the flickering ember as Aaron bit into his meat apple and Bokomon, after hearing the Thunder warriors exclamations of disgust, explained that you had to cook them.

"I was just wondering," Darren said as Lydia placed the now-aflame stick into the pile of wood, which almost immediately caught. "We have the spirits of seven of the legendary warriors, right?" After receiving a confirming nod from the blonde, he crossed his arms, "So why, when we were all working together, we still couldn't defeat that idiot, Grumblemon?"

Lydia glanced sideways at the brunette, her blue eyes thoughtful. "Good question," she muttered, half to herself. "At one point, we seemed to have defeated him… but then… he spirit evolved into that out of control Gigasmon!"

Darren raised one eyebrow as he sat down next to her, watching as the flames rose, "But he called it 'Beast Spirit'. Any idea what that meant?"

Lydia shook her head as the others ran over, three apples each in hand, but half-way to the fire, both John and Harry stopped, looking up.

I wonder if John saw that. Maybe the thing earlier **wasn't **his imagination.

Harry thought as Chloe yelled for them to hurry up.

"Hey, Bokomon. Is there anything in your book about a Beast Spirit?"

Bokomon shrugged as everyone placed their apples next to the fire, "I haven't seen anything."

"If it's not too much trouble, could you just double check?" Darren asked as Bokomon nodded, pulling the large book out of his pink waistband.

"Let's see… Beast, beast, beast, beast…" He paused on the last page with the letters 'B' and 'E' on it. "I'm afraid I don't see anything."

Arlene sighed as Neemon placed a hand on the page Bokomon had stopped on, "Thanks any- What are you doing, Neemon?"

Neemon pointed towards the page, "I think I found something. This page seems to be folded over! Maybe there's other stuff inside!"

Bokomon gasped and opened the page Neemon had been pointing to, "It's a miracle! You're actually right!" He turned to face Darren and Lydia, who were sitting just beside him, "This changes everything! There appears to be **two** spirits for each of the Legendary Warriors! The first is the Human Spirit, like Agunimon, but the second is called the Beast Spirit. That's where Gigasmon came from… But how did he summon it?"

"I wonder what life would be like as a beastie!" Neemon exclaimed as John quickly stifled a giggle.

Bokomon rolled his eyes and glared at Neemon, "Why don't we lead you to one and you can find out from the inside? Don't you understand?! This means that the children may be able to spirit evolve again!"

I wouldn't exactly classify us as children.

Lydia thought, scowling slightly. _John's the only one still in primary school! _"Well, if Bokomon's right, then we should all be able to get a Beast Spirit," she said, deciding to keep her thoughts on what they should be classified as to herself.

"So basically… we're only half way there!" Chloe exclaimed.

Aaron groaned and slumped onto his hands backwards, "It's like starting all over again!"

Arlene shrugged, turning to face him as Neemon poked Bokomon, "Look on the bright side; at least this time we have a chance of defending ourselves."

"Yeah! And if we get our Beast Spirits, maybe we can beat Grumblemon," John exclaimed.

Darren nodded in agreement, grinning, "Well, I'm gonna give it a shot! Beast Spirit, here we come!"

Everyone but Lydia, who was staring at the fire thoughtfully, added their agreement, even Aaron, who looked decidedly more cheerful.

"Bokomon? Is this a good idea?" Neemon asked, poking the smaller digimon again.

Bokomon glared at his friend, batting the yellow paw away, "What are you talking about? We have to help them find their Beast Spirits as soon as possible! The faith of the digital world is resting on their shoulders! We haven't even made it to the Forest Terminal, and we're running out of time! These Beast Spirits must be our number one priority!"  
"Nope! Not good!"  
"UGH! **WHAT** IS NOT GOOD?!"  
"The meat apples! They're burning!"

Everyone gasped and made a mad dash for the meat apples, Harry and Darren both having to blow on theirs for a minute or two to extinguish some flames.

"Mine's like a roast chicken!" (Aaron)  
"This tastes almost exactly like a hamburger!" (John)  
"I think I'm eating venison!" (Darren)  
"Mmm! Veggie burger!" (Lydia - she's vegetarian)  
"Prawns! I haven't had them since I was a little kid!" (Arlene)  
"Ugh, I got meatloaf! John, you wanna trade?" (Harry)  
"Mines steak!" Chloe cried, anime falling-backwards-in-happiness.

Suddenly, the light around them dimmed and they looked up to see a large cloud covering the three moons. "Hey! You're blocking the view!" Aaron, the comedian as ever, cried.

John gasped slightly as certain parts on the tree trunks began glowing, "Um… guys? Something's happening!" Moving a bit closer, he gasped again, "Whoa! A TV!"

Everyone got up and walked over to the trees, gasping as they realised that every tree was a television.

"A bunch of them."  
"Sweet!"  
"Whoa! TV Tree!"  
"Do you think we could get music videos?"

"Wait a minute," after pausing, Chloe gasped in sudden realisation. "That's our world! Those are scenes from back home!"

Bokomon nodded, inspecting a video of the Eiffel Tower, "Right you are, Chloe. It's called the TV Forest, a video gateway to the human world."

Lydia turned around, frowning slightly as she stepped backwards, as if trying to block the one she had been watching from the others, "That's really weird, even for this world!"

Chloe, not listening, placed a hand on the tree in front of her, revealing a large, yellow building with two gates blanketed in snow, "That's my school! Oh, it was never so pretty before!"

Arlene frowned slightly as she walked up to it, "Hey! I go to that school too! Wow, that snow only fell in March! Man, this was a weird year for weather."

Aaron nodded slightly, joining the two girls, glad to talk about something other than the Beast Spirits, "I had choir that day and we were snowed in for about two hours. A week later the music room was redecorated, so we started practicing there."

John gasped and crept up to a tree, looking even smaller in front of the wide, looming trunk, "That's the park my mom used to always take me to play." Suddenly, he froze as the view drifted across the park until a tall, hazel-haired woman came into view, "My… mother!"

Everyone gasped and ran over to him, even Lydia, who was worrying that he would be upset. Although she would never admit it, she was beginning to take Darren's advice to heart and treat the boy like a younger brother.

"You weren't kidding," Chloe whisper-exclaimed as the view changed, giving everyone a look at the pale, green-eyed woman's face. "You're mother's very pretty, John."

He muttered something under his breath before gasping in shock-horror as the clouds covering the three moons moved on, casting light onto the forest once again and the tree-TV's dimmed, "WAIT! No, mom! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE! MMMOOOOOMMM!"

* * *

"I bet my mom's really worried about me," Chloe muttered as Darren offered his hot dog-apple to a still-sobbing John. She grinned as she glanced back at the two. _John could be his little brother._ Harry, who was beside her, grinned slightly as John took a bite of the apple, but whipped his head up as he heard a slight whooshing noise.

"Hey, Lydia! You falling asleep or something?" Darren called to Lydia, who was sitting down, leaning against a tree, hands behind her head.

She scowled slightly, crossed her arms and turned her head the other way, "Sleep? I'm lucky I'm not bored to death yet!"

"What's your problem, anyway?" Aaron called, ticked off. "She needs a nap!"

"She's just grumpy," Chloe decided, walking over to Aaron as Arlene stared at Lydia worriedly. "Hey, John? Would you like to see some of Aaron's magic tricks?"

Darren gasped slightly, looking up at the older boy as he stood up, "Magic? Since when?"

Aaron grinned and took a slight bow, "Since I was a little kid! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you; the magic of Howie Dodat!"

Arlene sighed, and glanced towards Lydia again as Aaron began his magic show, "It's weird. She was fitting in just fine until the tree-TV thing. I wonder what got into her." She was talking to herself, and so was surprised when Harry walked over to her and sat down, looking towards Lydia as well.

"Maybe she saw something she didn't want to see," he commented.

Arlene nodded in agreement and looked towards Aaron, who had just presented a small clothes line to John and was now twisting the cloth inside his hands, "And now, I'll bring them back to normal!" He opened his hands, revealing the two cloths, perfectly normal again.

"Now, how **did** he do that?" Bokomon asked, arms crossed.

Darren grinned, clapping madly, "Explains where he got his show name from!"

Arlene, who began clapping slightly as well to be polite, had a feeling he was enjoying the show just as much as John, if not more so.

"It doesn't explain why he's so annoying!" Lydia exclaimed, an annoying smirk on her face as Darren pleaded for Aaron to do another and Harry gave her a warning glare, trying to remind her of what happened on the floating island, but she just smirked at him and turned the other way.

"I don't know if I know anymore! In fact, I don't even know if I know if I know how to do the last one!" Aaron explained, placing the cloths back into his pocket as John walked over to the fire to pick up his third meat apple.

"Nightmare Syndrome!"

Lydia glanced around as John took a bite of the apple, suddenly dropping it into the fire. _I wonder who said that._

* * *

"This sucks! I do an amazing performance and I have to watch the stupid fire!" Aaron grumbled, poking the fire slightly as it began to die.

"Stop complaining. We all drew straws and you lost, buddy, so you have to watch the fire," Darren, who was relaxing next to Aaron, explained, for possibly the tenth time that night.

Aaron sighed and hugged his knees slightly, "I'm just tired from all the walking. I think I just need a nap for a bit."

Darren frowned, remaining silent for a moment, "Hey, Aaron? I was just wondering; are you an only child?"

Aaron looked at him, slightly surprised, "No. I actually have a younger sister."

Darren raised one eyebrow slightly, "That's a surprise."  
"Oh, really?"  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just miss my own little sister. A year younger than John."

They both glanced over at John, who was wincing slightly in his sleep.

Darren nodded, a sad look passing his face, "I had promised to play basketball with her the day we came to the digital world. We had bet the last packet of Pringles on the outcome." He growled slightly, "Damn it, those were my favourite flavour!"

Aaron grinned mischievously, "It's a bit late for that, Pringles."

Darren grinned slightly, "Yeah, no big- wait, what happened to 'Dar'?"

Aaron shrugged and poked the fire again, "Grew tired of it. Wasn't my best creation, anyway."

"Aw, come on! That's just mean!" Darren exclaimed before suddenly whipping his head up. "Do you feel like we're being watched?"

Aaron shrugged, glancing around wildly, "I don't really know. I guess." After glancing around a bit more, Aaron shrugged again, "Maybe it was just a squirrel… or something…"

Darren shook his head, glaring at nothing in particular, "I can't believe you didn't feel something just then."

Aaron grinned sheepishly, "I did, but I thought it might have been Lydia. She never does seem to sleep, ya know?"

Lydia, who actually had been awake, opened her eyes and watched the tree branches above her. _Sorry to disappoint you, Howie, but that wasn't me. Ugh! What did she mean?_

***Flashback*  
**_Never give up searching for the spirit, Lydia O'Dwyer, for the spirit awaits you. Once you find it, the mysteries that surround you will begin to make sense.  
_***Flashback End***

The mysteries that surround me? I wish I knew what they were!

She closed her eyes again, trying to turn off her brain, but suddenly, John's whimpers grew louder, causing her to turn her head in his direction, and even going to the extent of waking Chloe, Arlene and Harry, who were asleep beside him.

"STOP!" He cried, jolting up and grabbing one of the flaming sticks from the fire.

"John, what's wrong?" Harry asked, standing up and walking over to the boy.

"I won't forgive you. I won't forgive you. I won't forgive you," he chanted, his face cleared of any emotion other than lethal rage.

Arlene grabbed Harry's hand, pulling him back as John took a menacing step towards the Prince, "There's something wrong with him!"

Chloe, for some reason not understanding the dangers of a kid with a white-hot, sharp stick, walked towards him, "John! Stop this right now!"

He jabbed the stick towards her, although not hitting her due to the fact that she fell to the ground and rolled out of the way, "I WILL NOT FORGIVE!"

Darren growled, taking a step forward, "Cut it out! This isn't funny, John!"

John glanced towards him, his eyes dull and yet filled with unimaginable hate for a kid as young as him, "I will never forgive **any** of you! You're going to pay for what you've done to me! Execute! Spirit Evolution! Kumamon!"

Everyone gasped as he froze the fire while Harry glanced over at Lydia, who was still resting against the tree, "Lydia! Are you paralysed or something? Get over here and help us!"

Normally she would have yelled at him not to order her around, even if he was a Prince, but for once Lydia ran over, with no snide remarks or complaints.

"I'm tired of you bullying me!" Kumamon cried as he advanced on everyone but the Royals, sucking in a deep breath of chilling air. "Crystal Freeze!"

Darren shoved Chloe out of the way, resulting in them falling down a small hill, while Lydia and Aaron jumped, Aaron grumbling about why he wasn't the one to fall with Chloe.

Kumamon growled and turned to Arlene, who was attempting to back away, "I WON'T FORGIVE! Crystal Freeze!"

Arlene gave a cry of shock and jumped onto the first branch of the tree behind her, which, unfortunately for her, was hit by Kumamon's attack and began to fall.

"ARLENE!" Harry cried, grabbing his D-Tector, "Execute! Spirit Evolution! Secociamon!" He jumped up, grabbing Arlene from the tree seconds before it hit the ground, or landed on him, and landed next to the others.

"Looks like the only option is to take him out!" Aaron exclaimed.

Darren shook his head, scowling, "No way! There's got to be another way!"

Both Chloe and Arlene nodded in agreement, along with Harry, who stayed in the form of Secociamon to try and block Kumamon's attacks.

Aaron turned towards Lydia, who closed her eyes for a split second, "Sorry, Aaron. I'm with them."

Aaron frowned and crossed his arms as Secociamon blocked an attack from reaching them, "Fine, then what do you think we should do?"

Kumamon growled, not giving anyone time to answer due to the fact that he was firing multiple attacks towards them, too many for Secociamon to block.

Lydia and Arlene jumped out of the way with Darren, who fell backwards before running after them, while Aaron extended a hand to Chloe, saying that he'd protect her… just before he fell and she had to jump to avoid stepping on him.

Kumamon growled and moved towards Lydia, Darren, Arlene and Secociamon, but a loud whoosh made them look towards the trees.

"Did you guys see that?" Lydia exclaimed.

Secociamon nodded after blocking yet another of Kumamon's attacks, "Well, now I know I'm not going crazy."

The blonde nodded and flipped her D-Tector into the air, catching it the right way up.

"Execute! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Lobomon!"  
"Flasinamon!"  
"Agunimon!"

"Wait a minute! I thought we all agreed not to spirit evolve! How is that fair?" They heard Aaron exclaim as Lobomon took a step forward.

Chloe glanced sideways at Aaron, who was now cursing under his breath, "They might know something we don't, Aaron!"

Lobomon growled and drew her light-saver-sword, pointing it towards the sky, "ANCIENT SPIRIT OF LIGHT!"

The beam of light lit the entire area, giving Agunimon enough vision to see a digimon beginning to float away from them, "There he is!"

They heard muttering slightly before Chloe whipped around to face Lobomon, Secociamon and Flasinamon, "Guys, if you hurt a hair on that bears head, you'll be answering to me!"

Secretly, Harry, Arlene and Lydia all wondering what she could do (not having seen her attack John and Darren after she had gotten her spirit), but the thought was broken when Kumamon leapt up into the air, "Frozen Tundra!"

He formed a sharp, icicle with his body, forcing himself towards Lobomon, who blocked him using his sword, "Kumamon! This has to stop!"

Kumamon growled and was about to attack again when Agunimon burst through the bushes riding a pig-like digimon, "Rotten little warthog!"

Bakumon; the product of a medical sleep-research computer programme. His special attack is nightmare syndrome.

Agunimon growled as Bakumon flew behind a tree and began running after him, Flasinamon and Secociamon following close behind, "Come back here, you stupid pig!"

Agunimon rushed at Bakumon, but just as he was about to attack, Bakumon flew just above him, "Nightmare Syndrome!"

"AGUNIMON!" Secociamon cried as he tried to lash out at the flying pig with Flasinamon while Agunimon let out a cry of despair.

Suddenly, Agunimon leapt up, one hand outstretched, "It's only a dream! Bakumon has him convinced we're his enemies!"

Chloe and Aaron gasped in horror as Kumamon forced Lobomon to back into a tree, "Stop! John, it isn't real!"

Kumamon stopped and grabbed the gun attached to his waistband, "My name is Kumamon, and you're nothing but a big bully!"

Lobomon flinched slightly underneath her armour, but shook her head, "No! You're wrong!"

Kumamon froze as Secociamon walked slowly towards him, "We're not your enemies, John! You're under Bakumon's spell!"

Flasinamon nodded, a warm smile on her face, "We're your friends!"

Agunimon growled and punched his fists together in the beginnings of an attack as Chloe and Aaron gasped in horror, "It's time to end this nightmare!" He quickly whipped around to face Bakumon and threw several balls of flame at him, which knocked him to the ground, causing his fractal code to appear.

Secociamon grabbed his D-Tector and walked forwards, "Evil creature! Be purified by harmony! Fractal code; digitise!"

Everyone turned to face John as he was cocooned in data and reverted to his human form while Bakumon was thrown to the ground for the second time in five minutes.

John blinked slightly before looking up at Lobomon, "Lobomon? Have you been fighting somebody?"

Lobomon grinned slightly, sheathing her Light Saber (Man, I love writing that!), "Good to see you're back to normal, John."

Chloe grinned widely and ran towards him, crouching down until she was at eye level with him, "You just had a horrible nightmare, John."

Bokomon nodded, smiling softly and went into a long speech with Aaron and Neemon that basically meant; Cherubimon turned Bakumon evil and he gave you a nightmare, making us think we were your enemies.

Bakumon sighed, floating towards John, "I'm sorry. I promise from now on I'll only send you good dreams."

John nodded, smiling, looking slightly overwhelmed, "Um… okay…"

Harry grinned as he, Lydia, Darren and Arlene de-digivolved, not noticing a certain addition to his wardrobe, "Good thing you don't remember it!"

Suddenly, spotting what Harry had missed, John's jaw dropped, "When'd you get the crown, Harry?"

Harry frowned as everyone stared at him, "What crown?"

Lydia snickered slightly, wondering how he was going to react as Arlene pointed to it.

Still frowning, he took it off his head and brought it down to eye level to inspect it. It was a bronze colour and had several garnets dotting just beneath the small, two-centimetre long peaks.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed as his D-Tector began emitting a beeping sound and he pulled it out of his pocket.

Prince of Harmony; this is your crown. You must where it as a symbol of hope and significance. When you and the Princess of Friendship prove yourselves worthy, you will be able to access your true powers.

Harry groaned and stared at the crown in dismay as the screen on his D-Tector went blank, "You mean I actually have to wear this thing?!"

"You must have earned it when you saved me from that tree, even though you could have been crushed by it… Just put it on, Harry! It's not like anyone from your school will see you!" Arlene exclaimed, grinning widely.

Sighing in defeat, he replaced it on his head, but not before warning everyone, especially Lydia, that if he heard one snide comment, they would be wishing they were facing Grumblemon rather than him and the group began walking again.

* * *

Darren sighed and glanced sideways at Lydia, who was walking beside him, "Thanks, Lydia. And… sorry I was so mean to you before. I owe you one!"

Lydia deadpanned, continuing to stare up at the three moons, as if Darren hadn't said anything, "You don't owe me anything."

Arlene, who was walking behind us with Aaron and Harry, nodded and walked up between us, grinning mischievously, "Yeah, Darren! Lydia owed you for saving her down in the tunnels! If you, her knight in shining armour, hadn't saved her, who would have?"

Lydia growled, blushing slightly, and glared at the Princess, "Shut. Up."

Deciding her work was done, Arlene grinned again and walked back to Harry as Lydia looked back up at the moons, "Besides; Harry's the one who sensed him. If you should be thanking anyone, it should be him."

Darren, slightly confused, stopped as Lydia stared at the ground, "I've always heard savages rely on intuition."

Luckily for her, Harry didn't hear her, but Darren, who growled and looked away, did, "You **really **hate being nice, don't you?"

He glanced sideways as Lydia looked up and grinned sincerely at him. Grinning back, Darren raised a fist and tapped his knuckles against hers, both seemingly trying to outdo each other to see who could withstand it the longest.

"I don't know if I'll ever understand them," Aaron groaned, confused. "Weren't they rivals a minute ago?"

Harry shrugged nonchalantly, "Who knows? With those two, anything's possible!"

* * *

"Sweet dreams, kids," Bakumon whispered as he sent a soft, pink coloured mist towards the five sleepers in front of him.

Lydia grinned slightly, watching him from her usual perch underneath a tree, "Now that's the way to sleep." Suddenly, hearing a beeping noise, she grabbed her grey-and-white D-Tector and pressed a button, not wanting to wake anyone.

You're Beast Spirit awaits, Lydia O'Dwyer, but first, you have some growing to do.

What? What does she mean?

Lydia thought as some leaves rustled where Harry was sleeping, away from the Bakumon, not wanting to have someone affecting his dreams, even if to bring him happy ones.

"I guess I'd better find out," she muttered as she quickly scribbled a note to the others and placed a rock on it, trying to creep quietly past Harry, who had proved for the past few nights that he was an uneasy sleeper, but…

"Where do you think you're going, Lydia?" he muttered, eyes closed.

Lydia growled and shoved her hands into her pockets, "Getting something to drink, not that it's any of you're business."  
"Liar. I heard that message."  
"Yeah. So?"

"So," he whispered, opening his eyes and sitting up on the leaf-bed. "If you think you're going alone, you're crazy. What if Gigasmon attacked you? You wouldn't stand a chance!"

Lydia growled at herself, narrowing her eyes slightly as Harry stood up, opened the note and signed his own name at the bottom, "I'm coming too."

Lydia scowled at him, narrowing her eyes further, "No way, Prince. What if the others need you?"

Harry smirked slightly and grabbed his violin case, "I'd say they'll be fine for a while. After all, there is five of them, but there's only one of you, and you're not strong enough to beat Gigasmon, no matter what you try to tell yourself!"

Lydia sighed, closed her eyes and turned towards the long plain in front of them, "Fine, you can tag along. Just don't get in my way, Prince."

Sighing, Harry glanced back at Arlene sadly before running to catch up to her, "Could you at least call me Harry? 'Prince' isn't any part of my name!"

Lydia snorted slightly as some grass rustled behind them, "Not a chance… **Prince**."

* * *

**Me: **Wow, that was a long chapter!  
**Lydia: **Why would you do that to me, Arlene?!  
**Arlene: ***shrug* I was bored.  
**Harry: **So talking to me is boring?  
**Arlene: ***blushing* NO! I just wanted to mess with Lydia for a bit.  
**Harry: ***growl* Fine. And why would you give me a crown?  
**Me: **Cause I wanted to. It helps boost your reputation as Prince!  
**Harry: **How? It's stupid as hell!  
**Me: ***sigh* Everyone's a critic. Anyway, seeing as this is my longest chapter (tying with the first)... okay, I can't think of anything inspirational to say. Um... See ya around!  
**John: **(the only sane one... at least here) Wait! Don't leave me with them!  
**Chloe: **Hey, John! Did you ever wonder what you'd look like with red hair?  
**Me: **John; I'm gonna offer you the most valuable advice you'll ever receive.  
**John: ***listens intently*  
**Me: **RUN FROM THE CRAZY PSYCHOS!

* * *

**Interview: **This chapter, Guest1 will be interviewing John Collins!

1. **Guest1:**What's your favourite book?  
**John: **Um... I don't really read that much. I'm more of a video game kid, but probably Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It's really cool!

2. **Guest1: **What's your favourite movie?  
**John: **DESPICABLE ME!

3. **Guest1: **If you could be any movie character, who would it be?  
**John: **Lucy from Narnia, even if she is a girl!

4. **Guest1: **What in the name of God are you wearing?  
**John: **Um... Man, I wish there was a FYF (F*ck you, Flamer) button right around now. I'm wearing my favourite hoodie?

5. **Guest1: **When am I getting my coffee?  
**John: **... That didn't have anything to do with me, but whenever you stop being lazy and make it!

* * *

**Me: **As I (or Harry) said, if you want to take part in the interviews, think of who you want to interview and five questions you want to ask them and send those two details to me, either in a review or PM. *evil grin* It'll save them from me for a while so they can think up answers and actually answer them. Lucky John! *holds up bazooka* Hey, Chloe!


	11. Chapter 10: Howling Under a Blue Moon

Okay, the characters give me headaches, so from now on, they'll only be in the ending commentary, interviews or answering reviews. Unfortunately, no one sent in an interview this time, so no one reveals truth... PLEASE INTERVIEW A FREAKING CHARACTER!

Anyway, just a heads up; I'm introducing two new characters soon, so whoever guesses what spirits they have gets a cyber cookie! And don't worry, they're the last major OC's that I'll be bringing in. So yay!

Okay, I'll start the story in a moment, once I answer reviews. This time, John can do it! And I don't own digimon, Darren or any of the songs played by Harry. Only my OC's.

* * *

**Reviews:  
Digi-fan Capp:** Really? You think we're funny? YAY! Cyber cookie for you! (John? Can you get back on track?) Oh, right. Sorry. Thanks so much for reviewing, and if you like the cookie, let me know so I can get mom to bake more for me to give reviewers! (John! Crazy psycho getting impatient here!) Okay, well, enjoy this chapter and the cyber cookie! (JOHN!) Bye! ^_^

* * *

And LacrymosaRules and digiwonder? I know that some of the parts aren't what who I based Harry off would do, but I just needed to put them in for the sake of the story. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

"Could something bad have happened to them?"  
"What if something bad happens to us?"  
"Don't say that! You'll scare m… Chloe and Arlene!"  
"Aaron, he's not going to scare me. They'll be fine!"  
"What's that?"

The campsite - which Lydia and Harry had abandoned - had been in utter turmoil for the past ten minutes, and everyone - save Arlene, who was sure they'd be fine - was running over already-searched spots, groggy with sleep but desperate to find their missing comrades. Chloe froze as she glanced in between the trees, terrified that it might be Gigasmon, but it turned out that it was only the rising sun.

"It's just the sun, Chloe. You know, the bright round thing in the sky?" Everyone shielded their eyes from the harsh rays while Darren rolled his eyes, glancing around again, "Looks like Bokomon and Neemon are gone too."

John glanced towards where the 'lone wolf' of the group had been sleeping, spotting what had been missed in the dark, "It's a note… from Lydia, wait no. Harry… Both of them!"

On top was a hastily crossed out note which - on closer inspection - read 'I'm going on alone so I can actually get something done.' Beneath it, however, was a much more polite note in Harry's writing, reading 'We're going to go ahead of you guys for a bit. Lydia's D-Tector was acting up. We'll be back soon.' Just beneath it was a scribbled drawing of - what seemed to be - Bokomon and Neemon.

Darren sighed, "Even in a note Lydia's a jerk…"

Arlene nodded slightly - not having fully registered what Darren had called the blonde - glancing at the one underneath, "At least Harry was more polite."

As Aaron and Chloe debated whether their absence was Aoife's fault, or her D-Tector's, Darren growled, crumpling the note and throwing it into a bush, "Bokomon and Neemon are lucky Harry's with her. They can't take care of themselves and I doubt she'd take care of them."

"We're going after them, aren't we, Pringles?" Aaron sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Darren nodded, grinning widely, "Of course! And don't call me that!"

* * *

"Where is that stupid inscription?" a small, rock-like digimon wearing a magnifying glass around his neck grumbled, his brow creased into a frown, waving said magnifying glass over a symbol, as if searching for something near it. Finding what he was looking for, he grinned widely, tracing the symbol with his hand, "Finally! When the third eye opens, the spirit will awaken!"

He sighed, glancing up at the three, solitary statues, all about ten metres from one another, twenty feet from the ground, two of them bearing red, glowing eyes, "I just have to find the third jewel!"

Groaning, he turned away from them, kicking the ground with one foot, "Man, you'd think if they left an inscription they'd be polite enough to leave a stupid map!"

* * *

Lydia sighed, crouching down next to a small spring, cupping some water into her hand and taking a sip from it. Next to her, Harry was examining his crown with obvious distaste, mumbling something about how he couldn't believe he had to wear it. Smirking, she turned to face him, the wind blowing one or two loose strands of hair into her face, "Too bad for you, Prince. That crown makes you the central tease of the group."

Glaring at her, Harry placed the crown back onto his head, "Lydia, I've already proven I'm not above hitting girls…"

Suddenly stopping in mid-sentence, he whipped around in the direction of he trees they had just exited. Shrugging at his sudden pause, Lydia stood up and pulled out her D-Tector, glancing at the spirit of Lobomon. _It's driving me nuts! Who sent that email? _

Suddenly hearing a rubber band snapping, Lydia glanced towards where Harry had been staring at, watching as Neemon fell out from behind a tree, clutching his waist. Groaning, she grabbed Harry's wrist and began pulling him into the long grass - several inches higher than either of them, "Stop following us!"

"Lydia! Slow down!" Harry cried, pulling the blonde to a halt just as they exited the grass, saving her from falling over a steep cliff.

She let out a gasp of shock before pulling her foot back slightly and glancing sideways as Bokomon and Neemon's voices came to her ears, "Thanks, Harry…"

"I don't see them!"  
"Oh for God's sakes! Your eyes are closed!"

She gasped as they both jumped out from the grass, landing on her shoulder, "Get off me!"

Harry reached forward to grab her hand and prevent them from falling over the cliff, but they were already to far over and - what with the extra weight of the digimon - ended up dragging him down as well.

After a few moments of rolling, the four hit a rock and were sent flying through the air, landing in front of a small, rock digimon.

Harry immediately stood up so that he wasn't crushing Lydia, but Lydia stayed crouching down for a moment, staring at the digimon before they leaped away from one another.

Gotsumon; A child-like, living rock of a digimon who can be trouble at the best of times.

"What do you want?" Lydia queried, scowling at the Gotsumon.

Growling, the Gotsumon turned his head away from her, his topaz eyes burning with indignation as he dusted himself down, "Nothing. So what do you guys want?"

"Nothing! Why do even give a sh…" Lydia trailed off, glancing at Neemon, positive that if he heard the word she was about to say, he would repeat it in front of John.

After a moment of the two glaring at one another, Harry shook his head, facepalming, "Lydia, I swear I'm surprised you weren't given a Gotsumon instead of a Spirit." To the Gotsumon he grinned, "Do you know how we can get to the Forest Terminal?"

The Gotsumon grinned widely, his eyes gleaming with amusement, "Yeah! I could tell you… but I'm not gonna! Catch me if you can!" With that he ran off, leaving the two humans and digimon staring after him in shock.

Bokomon, getting over his surprise, frowned, "Follow him! Come on, chop chop!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Lydia retorted, scowling, as Harry grabbed her wrist, pulling her after the digimon.

"Don't be so stubborn, Lydia," he panted slightly as he pushed the long grass out of the way, "He obviously knows something!"

* * *

"Why are you still clinging onto me?" Lydia growled, pushing grass out of the way, glaring up at Bokomon and Neemon. The grass had become shorter, only up to their shoulders now, but the two digimon were still hitchhiking on the warrior of Light's shoulders.

Harry sighed exasperatedly before pausing and glancing around as the Gotsumon climbed a large rock before seemingly disappearing, "Where'd he go?"

"He has to be around here somewhere," Lydia mused, working her way towards the rock and staring at where the digimon had disappeared.

"Just come out! We know you're here!" Bokomon cried, angered by the Gotsumon's previous rudeness.

"In a way," Harry muttered, half to himself, straining his ears for any sounds of movement.

Behind him, Lydia growled, "Look kid! We're not leaving any time soon, so you might as well just show yourself!"

"Oh, alright!" Harry jumped as the Gotsumon re-appeared on the rock, turning to face Lydia stubbornly, "But I'm still not telling you anything!"

That, of course, sent Bokomon onto one of his usual rants as Lydia turned her head to watch the Gotsumon over her shoulder, "You are just a brat! I don't think I've ever seen such a disrespectful digimon in all my life!"

"Yeah, so what if I am?" Gotsumon countered, before gasping as a slight tremor reached the bickering group and he climbed up further onto the rock, followed by Lydia and Harry, who climbed up just in time to see a part of the mountain's - there was a mountain just ahead - fractal code disappear, causing the whole mountain to collapse.

The dust had barely cleared, but it was enough to see Gotsumon fleeing in terror as a familiar, gnome-like digimon came up behind them, "Where is spirit? Give Grumblemon spirit!"

"It's Grumblemon!" Lydia cried, making Harry sigh slightly.

"Never would have guessed that from the accent," he muttered.

"NO!" The Gotsumon yelled, making the two glance towards him as he began shaking uncontrollably, "He can't get away with this! I won't let him!"

Lydia growled, climbing further onto the rock, "Are you freaking crazy? You can't handle him, kid! Just leave this to us!"

Gotsumon paused, forced jump down as Harry joined Lydia at the top of the rock, "To… you?"

Harry nodded, his eyes shining with determination, "Yeah. Check this out!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Secociamon!"  
"Lobomon!"

Gotsumon watched in awe as the two leaped from the rock, propelling themselves forward, "They turned into digimon!" Spotting the symbols on their armour, his eyes widened, "And not just any digimon! The warrior of Light and the Prince of the digital world! Maybe there's hope yet!"

* * *

"Grumblemon!" Lobomon yelled, landing behind the gnome with Secociamon as he ate another mountain's fractal code.

He smirked, rubbing the side of his mouth, "It you. That good. Me be looking for you!"

"So what?" Lobomon countered, narrowing her eyes.

"You get away before, but if I defeat and get spirit or crown, Cherubimon be much grateful to Grumblemon! Slide **Evolution! Gigasmon!**"

Harry took an involuntary step back as Gigasmon jumped up into the air, pushing himself back further as the warrior of Earth clenched his hands into one fist, smirking, "Lobomon! Get out of there!"

Lobomon shook her head, pulling out her Light Saber (Yay! The triumphant return! :D), "Lobo Kendo!"

As Gigasmon's fists hit the ground, there was a large explosion of both light and flying rocks, forcing Secociamon to shield his eyes. When he looked again, Gigasmon was triumphantly standing on a large pillar, surrounded by other shorter ones, glancing around. "Lydia!" He cried, running forward, only to be stopped by Gotsumon.

"Let me take care of this! I can't do any worse than her!" he insisted.

For a moment, Harry considered telling him to go away, but then he realised that he had more of a chance of helping Lydia if he wasn't alone, "Okay. You find Lobomon and I'll distract Gigasmon for as long as possible. Understood?"

When Gotsumon nodded, Secociamon leapt onto the pillar beside Gigasmon, heart pounding, "Hey, Gigasmon! Missed me, you over-sized Pinocchio!"

"**Huh?**"Gigasmon whipped around to face Secociamon, scowling. "**What Pinocchio? Ugh, not matter! Me get rid you anyway!**"

"If you can catch me!" Secociamon taunted, leaping to the next pillar, using Gigasmon's small, spindly legs to his advantage.

* * *

Gotsumon grunted slightly, jumping from ledge to ledge as Secociamon drew Gigasmon further away from where the attack hit, due to the fact that the possibility of Lobomon being there was high. A moment later, Gotsumon growled as he spotted Lobomon lying motionless on one of the lower pillars, "I've got to save her!"

He growled again, attempting to carry the warrior bridal style as Secociamon ran their way to escape Gigasmon, "Hey! Come on, wake… up!"

**Clink.**

Gotsumon's head shot up so fast, if anyone had seen it they'd be surprised it was still on his shoulders. Just across from him, falling into a crevice, was a glowing, cylindrical object. _The jewel! If I could just get it to the statues I could release the spirit! _"As if I could!" he reprimanded himself, remembering what his friends and family had told him.

"**Quagmire Twister!**" Gotsumon's head shot up again as Gigasmon's booming voice came towards them just in time to see Harry flying through the air, hit the side of the mountain and remain unmoving. "**Where you at?**" Gigasmon roared, obviously continuing his search for Lobomon. Spotting the two, he smirked, "**Me see you!**"

Letting out a quiet sob of anger, Gotsumon climbed over Lobomon, allowing his ability of camouflaging himself to look like the rock he was touching to kick in. _I can go back for it later. Right now, her life's more important!_

Hearing Gigasmon grunt, Gotsumon squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn't tall enough to cover Lobomon's entire body, but he was counting on the fact that Grumblemon had less intelligence than the dirt beneath him. "**You no hide!**"he cried, jumping to another ledge.

Letting out a breath of relief, Gotsumon stood up as Lobomon's eyes cracked open slightly and she forced herself into a shaky sitting position, "Thanks-"

"Don't thank me 'til we're outa here!" Gotsumon interrupted, leaping over the warrior.

Lobomon growled slightly, narrowing her eyes, "Can't I rest for a moment?"

Gotsumon snorted, glancing at Harry who was beginning to stir, "If you and your friend over there want to be dirt pancakes, be my guest!"

Lobomon growled, glancing up at Gigasmon who was searching only ten pillars away, "**You in for much pain when I find!**"

"Heh," she muttered sarcastically, running over to Harry and picking him up as he groaned slightly. "Been there, done that."

* * *

"Is there anything we can do?" Bokomon queried, his hand placed on Lydia's knee.

Snorting, Lydia closed her eyes, angling her head at the ceiling as she tried to drown out the depressed sighs of the Gotsumon around her, "No."

"This'll help!" Gotsumon announced, dropping a shell - inside of which was a tablet that looked very much like a pain killer - onto the make-shift table in front of her before handing one to Harry.

"Thanks," Harry grinned, popping the tablet into his mouth and taking a small sip of water to wash it down.

Lydia, however, glared at the Gotsumon, fighting a blush that was threatening to rise to her cheeks out of embarrassment, "I don't need your help. I was doing just fine on my own, you know."

Gotsumon snorted, "Were you fighting a different battle? If Harry (who, after being called 'My Lord' again, insisted that they just call him Harry) and I hadn't stepped in, you'd be a Grumblemon pancake right now!"

"So?" The blonde challenged, glaring down at navy high tops, "You couldn't do any better. He'd have your fractal code before you could say 'help'."

"No I won't!" he stubbornly cried, walking over to the door. "I'll be a hero and I won't need help like **you **do. At least Harry was smart enough to dodge the attack, but you took it and went down like the helpless idiot you are!"

That comment stung and Lydia had to bite back a retort as another Gotsumon grabbed the first's shoulder as he pulled open the door, "No! Don't! You'll make Grumblemon angry with us!"

Another, with a distinctly female tumour, grabbed his arm, "He's right! Don't make trouble for the rest of us!"

Gotsumon was still for a moment before shoving the two away, "Let go!"

Harry groaned - seeing that Lydia wasn't going to say anything - and stepped forward, "Gotsumon, you just can't fight him on your own! Even heroes need help sometimes."

Gotsumon glared at him slightly before bowing, "I apologise, My- I mean, Harry, but this is something I have to do! And at least I know I can't do any worse than y… her, and I know that for sure! Some legendary warrior!"

Harry winced - knowing full well that if he wasn't a Prince, Gotsumon would have said 'you two' - as Lydia gasped in shock, watching as Gotsumon ran out of the tunnel, yelling that his friends were no better.

Sighing, Harry sat down next to Lydia as the two Gotsumon who had tried to hold the first back began talking.

"Crazy kid's got rocks in his head!"  
"If you ask me, that Gotsumon's gonna get us all destroyed."  
"Unless he really does find that spirit."

Harry and Lydia froze for a moment - processing the information - before yelling in unison, "He knows where a spirit is?!" _If Grumblemon gets that, we'll never stop him!_

* * *

"They said there was an inscription, but I don't see it," Bokomon frowned.

Neemon grinned widely, wiping dust from the statue, "Abracawhoosits!"

Bokomon frowned again, moving his face closer to the mark as Lydia and Harry slowly walked towards them, "But that's the same mark as Lobomon's! I wonder if that means Lydia's Beast Spirit is here."

Scowling slightly (Geez, Lydia and Koji scowl a LOT!), Lydia pulled out her D-Tector, pressing the button that usually brought up a map - as did Harry - as Bokomon and Neemon bickered over Neemon's lack of intelligence… again.

Five minutes later, Bokomon sighed and glanced up at the two humans, "Anything?"

Harry shook his head, sighing, while Lydia scowled even more deeply, "Not yet."

"Maybe it is hopeless…" Gotsumon sighed, crouching at the edge of a crevice where he was certain he had seen the jewel fall. _If it wasn't for Gigasmon moving the pillars again, I'd have found it by now!_

* * *

"Stupid… flipping… grass!" Aaron complained as he, Chloe, Darren and John (Arlene was jumping from rock to rock to get around) worked their way through the long, shoulder-length grass. "I'd give my chocolate for a lawn mower!"

"Or ear muffs," Chloe sighed, wishing she could drown out Aaron's complaints with the fuzzy muffs hanging from her bed.

"Slide **Evolution**!" Everyone gasped in shock-horror as the familiar voice came to their ears. "**Gigasmon!**"

Letting out a shocked cry, Chloe froze as Gigasmon leapt into the air, clasping his hands together. Darren, John and Aaron had jumped out of the way, but it was as if she were petrified; her body wouldn't do what she told it to.

"CHLOE!" She heard Arlene cry before a weight shoved her out of the way as Gigasmon's fists hit the ground, creating a large explosion.

* * *

Gotsumon gasped as the ground trembled beneath him, "Gigasmon's back!"

He was about to move when a soft glow caught his eye and some smaller rocks fell out of the way, revealing a small crack in the wall and what he had been looking for, "The third jewel!"

He smirked, reaching for the gem, his eyes gleaming, "With this I can get the spirit and finally beat Grumblemon."

* * *

Lydia's head whipped around as the sounds of an explosion came to her ears, "Damn it, don't tell me it's Gigasmon again!"

"How many digimon do you know that could do **that**?!" Harry snapped, his eyes wide in fear. "He must have found the others!"

Growling, Lydia began running towards the explosion, "Come on."

Bokomon gasped, raising one hand, "What about the spirit?"

"Later!" she snapped. "They might need us!"

Harry raised one eyebrow, drawing up beside her as Bokomon lowered his arm, muttering something about being of more help if they had the spirit, "Since when does Lydia O'Dwyer care about someone in need of help?"

Lydia growled, glaring sideways at him, "Shut up, Prince! Just be grateful you don't have to help them on your own!"

* * *

Gigasmon smirked as dust filled the air, obscuring almost everyone from sight, "**Okay. Who first be beaten up good?**"

"Me!"  
"No, me!"  
"And me!"  
"Don't forget about me!"  
"If you think I'm going down without a fight, you're in for a shock!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Agunimon!"  
"Flasinamon!"  
"Kumamon!"  
"Kazemon!"  
"Beetlemon!"

"**You want more hurt?**" Gigasmon taunted, glancing sideways at the warriors. "**You no learn good, do you?**"

Ignoring him, the warriors scowled, readying their attacks.

"Pyro Tornado!"  
"Tempest Twist!"  
"Wood Whip!"  
"Thunder Fist!"  
"Crystal Freeze!"

Gigasmon smirked, taking the attacks like they were nothing, waiting until the warriors were in close enough range for his attack to really take it's toll, "**Quagmire Twister!**"

They were all sent flying through the air, Kumamon's fractal code appearing as Gigasmon looked up.

"JOHN!" Kazemon cried, flying rapidly towards him as Gigasmon raised his fist, pushing him out of the line of fire and taking the hit herself.

"Kazemon!" Kumamon cried as he absorbed his fractal code and hit the ground

Gigasmon smirked as Kazemon's figure became a shadow, her spirit appearing along with her fractal code and he swallowed it, "**You done now!**"

Flasinamon gasped, flying forward to catch Chloe as she was cocooned in data, lowering her softly to the ground as she de-digivolved herself, "I've got you!"

Beetlemon and Agunimon leapt into the air, attacks at the ready as Gigasmon slide evolved, commenting on how good the spirit tasted, "You're gonna pay for that, Grumblemon!"

Grumblemon smirked, pulling out two hammers and hitting out at Agunimon and Beetlemon, causing them to hit the ground in their human forms, "Yum. More tasty spirits for Grumblemon!" He moved forwards but froze as beams of light surrounded him.

"How about a taste of pain instead?" Lobomon suggested, aiming her arm at Grumblemon as Secociamon jumped up to meet her.

"Howling Laser!"  
"Crystalline Beam!"

* * *

Gotsumon growled, glancing over his shoulder as an explosion of light erupted from where the earthquake had been not ten minutes previous, "That stupid Grumblemon!"

He grinned, glancing at the jewel in his hand, "Things'll be different once I get the spirit! Then I'll be a legendary warrior and Gigasmon will get his!"

* * *

"How'd you like **that**?" Lobomon snarled, grabbing Grumblemon by the hem of his armour/t-shirt.

Grumblemon smirked, "Not bad. But not good either."

"And yet we managed to injure you," Secociamon growled, referring to Grumblemon's several scrapes.

"Yeah! What's the matter? Our spirits are too strong for you to take now?" Lobomon taunted, glancing anxiously towards the others to make sure they weren't severely injured.

Grumblemon smirked again, reaching behind his back, "Still got double tricks up sleeve!" He smirked again, pulling out his hammers, aiming for Lobomon's face, but the wolf warrior ducked.

"Here's a trick for you!" Secociamon cried, slamming the flat of his sword into Grumblemon, knocking him off the rock as he and Lobomon began to run towards the cliff, drawing him away from the others.

"You pay for that!" They heard him call as he jumped onto the rock again. "Slide **Evolution!** **You running way good! Now see how bad at fighting!**"

* * *

Aaron sighed in relief as the three warriors disappeared from view, "He's gone now. You're not hurt too much, are you C?"

Chloe shook her head, sighing as she stared sadly at the static screen of her D-Tector, "No… I'm fine. It's just… how am I going to help you guys now?"

"Chloe, don't you **dare **think you're no use to us!" Arlene stated, wrapping one arm around her friend's shoulders. "If it weren't for you, John could have died!"

John nodded, grinning, "Yeah! You saved my life! Thanks, Chloe!"

Chloe grinned half-heartedly, nodding at John before glancing at Arlene and gasping, "Arlene! On your… head!"

Darren glanced up - along with Aaron and John - grinning, "Wow! I was expecting it to be bronze like Harry's!"

John nodded in agreement as Aaron smirked, "Man, is he going to be mad! Your's looks way better than his!"

Arlene frowned, reaching up to her head, gasping as she felt the narrow point of a tiara on her head, "What the…"

Taking it off, she glanced at the jade tiara with small, onyx crystals underneath each peak. Groaning, she replaced it on her head, not liking the awkward way it sat on her hair, "Now I know why Harry was annoyed!"

Sighing, Darren glanced in the direction Harry, Lydia and Gigasmon had run, "Come on. We can't just let them fight Gigasmon alone!"

* * *

"Good, but watch out for that thing!"  
"And that thing!"  
"They're the same thing, you imbecile!"  
"Oh. Sorry."

Gotsumon groaned, trying to block out the - once again - bickering Bokomon and Neemon as he climbed the statue, "Why couldn't the eye be closer to the ground?"

"Do take your time, but we don't have all day!" As if to prove Bokomon's point, an explosion of earth erupted less than a mile away from them. "See what I mean?"

Gotsumon glanced towards the continuous eruption, gasping as he saw the outlines of Secociamon, Lobomon and Gigasmon fighting, "Ugh… they're close!"

Just then, Lobomon and Secociamon leapt out of the dust, shortly followed by Gigasmon, "**Quagmire Twister!**"

Both crying out in pain as they were hit, data cocooned them as Harry was slammed into the ground and Lydia into one of the statues, leaving a large, Lobomon-sized dent.

"She's done for!" Bokomon cried as Lydia's figure became a shadow and her fractal code appeared, seeing Gigasmon rushing at her.

Gotsumon growled, leaping in front of the girl as Gigasmon jumped into the air, "Rock Fist!" Dozens of rocks surrounded his body as Gigasmon slammed into him and Lydia groaned, absorbing her fractal code and blinking her eyes open wearily.

Throwing the jewel at her, Gotsumon grinned slightly as she caught it, "Put that… in the statue… quickly!"

Glancing at the glowing gem, Lydia raised her eyebrow in a silent question as Gotsumon scowled, "When the third eye shines, the spirit will awaken! Hurry!"

"Spirit?" Lydia gasped, still staring at the jewel, "Why would you give it to me?" Suddenly, at the sound of a fist meeting rock, she whipped her head up to see Gigasmon beating Gotsumon's back in an attempt to get him to surrender, "HEY! Quit it!"

Gotsumon growled in impatience, grimacing, "DO IT! NOW!"

Nodding determinedly, Lydia grabbed a vine, swinging around to the front of the statue and climbing steadily up to the small ridge over which a small hole for the jewel was situated. Fitting it into the hole, she gasped as the statues began to shake, quickly sliding down to the ground as Harry joined Bokomon and Neemon, biting his lip as he pulled his violin out of the long grass surrounding the clearing which he had hidden it in earlier.

Eyes widening in awe, the two humans and three rookie digimon watched, amazed, as the statues began to revolve around one another until all of the eyes were pointed in Gigasmon's direction.

"**That… not good**," Gigasmon commented in horror, freezing as red beams shot out of the eyes, knocking him to the ground as he released Gotsumon.

"Lydia! Harry!" Darren cried, making the two look up as they rounded a corner and reached the clearing.

"The spirit," Lydia muttered, awestruck.

Bokomon's eyes widened as a glowing orb erupted from the ground, making Lydia's D-Tector react, "Lydia! Your D-Tector! It's your Beast Spirit!"

Everyone's attention was then drawn to Lydia as she frowned in a determined manner and pointed her D-Tector at the spirit, her D-Tector drawing it closer to her, "BEAST SPIRIT!"

* * *

"**So? Gigasmon not 'fraid of Beast Spirit!**" Gigasmon claimed as it flew towards Lydia.

Gotsumon - who had fallen to his knees - grinned widely, "I did it! I saved her and she got the spirit!"

Lydia's face became blank as a projection of a robotic wolf lunged at her and the symbol of Light appeared on her D-Tector's screen.

"EXECUTE! BEAST SPIRIT EVOLUTION!"

She let out a scream of pain as her clothes were ripped from her body only to be replaced by white-gold-and-purple Digi-Chrome armour. Golden wing-blades attached themselves to her back - and wheels; her legs - as she jumped up , landing on all fours as a robotic wolf helmet covered her entire face. Glaring at nothing in particular, she growled the name of her Beast Spirit, "**KendoGarurumon!**"

Letting out a bloodcurdling howl, she turned to face Gigasmon, but her eyes clouded over as a voice entered her head.

_~They're not your friends. They're your enemies and they will betray you!~_

_No!_

_~Yes! You know it's true! All they'll do is leave you, hurt you, betray you!~_

Letting out another howl, KendoGarurumon's eyes darkened to a blood red as she turned to face Arlene.

_~Attack them! Attack before they attack you!~_

_No! Gigasmon is the enemy, not them!_

"Why'd she get hers first?"  
"I could have done that!"  
"**There! Nice doggie. Sit!**"

_~You see? They envy you!~_

_No…_

Letting out a third howl, KendoGarurumon lowered her wheels and readied her wing-blades for attack.

_NO! I won't let you hurt them!_

She slammed into a tree, wincing slightly as Lydia fought for control.

"**Hm.**" Gigasmon smirked, turning to face KendoGarurumon, charging at her like an angry bull. "**Look like things not bad for Gigasmon after all. You should no keep what can't control!**"

_~Are you sure they're your friends?~_

_Yes! There's not a doubt in my mind!_

_~Hm… very well. If you are proven wrong, I will take this body for my own again. I look forward to seeing who is correct, bearer of Light.~_

Shaking her head, Lydia blinked as Gigasmon charged at her before charging herself, "**Howling Star!**"

"Now this will be big!" She heard Bokomon cry as he dragged Neemon towards the other humans and the two battling warriors neared one another.

Growling as her attack hit, KendoGarurumon glanced around to discover the cliff crumbling beneath them. _That has to have beaten him!_ She thought as Gigasmon's terrified scream reached her ears and she caught a ridge of the cliff in her paw, beginning to drag herself up.

"Lydia!" Everyone cried, eyes wide in horror.

Screaming in pain as she dragged herself further up to the cliff and data cocooned her, Lydia glanced - eyes half closed - at her D-Tector, feeling her energy deteriorating, "That… spirit… sure takes a lot out of you." She groaned, falling backwards towards the raging water beneath her until a rocky fist caught her hand.

Glancing up, she gasped inwardly as she saw Gotsumon grinning down at her, "I guess I did need your help to be a hero after all… and you needed mine too. Maybe asking for help is what makes you a hero! Of course, having a Beast Spirit doesn't hurt either."

After grimacing for a moment, Lydia grinned, "Do you think I could come up now?"

"Oh! Right! Sorry!"  
"It's fine. You just need to work on your hero skills; save first, speech later."

* * *

Arlene sighed contentedly, leaning against a tree as she glanced at Lydia, who was still examining her D-Tector. _I wonder if I'll loose control too…_

"Hey, Arlene," Harry grinned, seating himself next to the Princess.

Arlene grinned back at him before noticing the violin in his hands, "Hey, Harry. Why don't you play a song to lighten the mood? I'm sure we could all use it."

Darren - having heard the last statement - nodded in agreement, "Yeah, come one, Harry! Only John's heard you play before!"

Blushing slightly, Harry nodded, taking the violin out of the case and placing it gently under his chin, quickly deciding on a song he had heard on YouTube called 'An Endless Tale'.

Soon after he began playing the tune, John felt his eyes beginning to droop and by the end of the song, only he, Arlene and Lydia were awake.

"That was… amazing!" Arlene exclaimed as he re-strapped the violin into it's case. "When'd you learn to play like that."

Shrugging, Harry blushed again, "When I was three."

Arlene grinned as she lay down on the bed of leaves next to him, "You're really talented."

Shaking his head, Harry blinked, "No way. Tara from my school was really talented. I'm just okay at it."

Lydia snorted, slight impatience in her voice, "Harry, stop being modest, admit you're talented and go to sleep!"

Pursing his lips slightly, Harry bade both girls goodnight and soon, the only sound that could be heard in the clearing was the sound of heavy breathing and the occasional rustle of leaves as they shifted position in their sleep.

* * *

Harry: ... Just so the readers know, the person kojiluvr based me off is not that violent!

Don't be a hater!

Harry: I'll be what a freaking well want to be! *pulls out katana*

... That's not like who I based you off either.

Harry: Who cares as long as you die?

Everyone who likes this enough to read this.

Harry: Oh. Sh*t. *runs as mob of angry readers charge at him.

*Maniac laugh* Okay, and in case of any confusion with the warrior of Light, re-read the first chapter. I decided the person I based Lydia off was more like Koji than me (I'm based off Aoife). Anyway, thanks to digiwonder for helping me work that out! See ya next time! And this title was inspired by Koji's theme song, which I don't own either.

Harry: Help. Me.


	12. 11: Dangerous Flames Can't Hold a Candle

Hey, guys! Wow, this took ages! A whole week! Sorry for such a late update, but I'm just overloaded with school. And digiwonder, I know you're writing like, 24 fanfics and Reminiscent-afterthought has about 100 and something running ones, but I'm also writing an original fic, trying to catch up in French and Irish and all that shit.

Anyway, re-read summary and you'll see a small change to couplings. I'm making both Takouji and Takouichi just to make things different. Also, I edited Duskmon so that he's - she's - more feminine and Aoife can digivolve into him - her - by using a D-Tector, so Cherubimon's actually warped her mind, not just given her corrupted spirits.

Also, since Secociamon and Flasinamon control half the elements each, I've added 'Celestial' before each of their attacks to set them apart from the others. Just chose it cause they chose the three **Celestial **digimon. Yeah, it's cheesy, I know.

Anyway, big hints of two secret couples coming up, Takouji and Harlene in this chapter, so enjoy, read and please review. Otherwise I don't know what people think.

Oh, and I'll be updating a story either every Saturday or beforehand. At least I'll try. Now, reviews!

* * *

**digiwonder: **It's just something I do to... I don't know... show reviewers I appreciate the reviews... I don't know why I do it. I just do. Oh, and hints of your coupling! *wink, wink*

**KumoFuzei (Review to Summary): **Thanks so much! Glad you're going to read on and hope you like this chapter when you get to it! No need to say anything more. :)

**LacrymosaRules:  
(Chapter 3): **Thanks! Glad you think so! :)  
**(Chapter 10): **Once again, glad you think so and thanks!  
**(Chapter 11): **Thanks again, and I kinda needed to put that in. He hadn't used the violin for about three or four chapters! Hopefully you'll like this chapter just as much. Let's just say, you and Harry visit a fortune teller who specialises in love! *wink, wink*

* * *

Okay, enjoy the story and PLEASE REVIEW!

* * *

**Frontier 02: Legend of the Irish Warriors  
Chapter 11  
Dangerous Flames Can't Hold a Candle to Emotions**

* * *

Aoife sighed, closing her eyes contentedly as the soft breeze wove its way into her hair, the ripples in the water making a steady lapping sounds against the rocks. Shadows coated everywhere; the earth, the sea, the sky. It was her element.

She was the ruler of the shadows, the one who stalked silently through places the sun would never shine.

She was Darkness.

It was her first - and probably only - time outside the Continent of Darkness. Not that Lord Cherubimon minded, as long as it was night and she didn't interfere with her 'comrades' attempts to destroy the five spirit holders.

And - surprisingly to her - it was quiet. The silence was almost deafening, the darkness utterly consuming, but in a good way. Nothing could destroy the peace of the-

CRASH!

Grey eyes flashed open, the blonde's body - on instinct - stiffening, but relaxed slightly with a sigh a moment later as a rough, scratchy voice met her ears followed by another rock smashing.

"Stupid humans! They think me be beat? Me teach them lesson or two!"

Another rock smashing made Aoife sigh. So much for one peaceful night away from the Continent of Darkness, "Grumblemon."

Hearing a sharp intake of breath, Lydia closed her eyes again as Grumblemon pulled out his hammer, "Who there? Show to Grumblemon!"

Shaking her head, Aoife turned around, eyes narrowed, making Grumblemon gasp again as he hid his hammer somewhere beneath the ground, "Aoife!"

Aoife nodded, her eyes not leaving the gnome, "What happened this time?"

Grumblemon growled, teeth gnashing, fists clenched as he diverted his gaze to the ground, "KendoGarurumon stop me from stealing everyone spirits."

Aoife stiffened again, her eyes widening momentarily, "Kendo…Garurumon?" Her opposite. The Yang to her Yin.

Light.

Biting back a slight shudder, Aoife narrowed her eyes again, wiping the shock from her face, "Well you need to take him out of the picture."

"No him. Her. KendoGarurumon girl."

The last comment made Aoife frown. How was KendoGarurumon a **girl**? She had crossed with the spirits of Light at some time in her life, and they had been a boy.

At least, Cherubimon told her she had clashed with them before. Biting the inside of her cheek, Aoife began to wonder how many things her Lord had been keeping from her, but keeping her face carefully blank, she dug into her pocket and pulled out a small, red-glass vial, "Use this. It will keep hi- her out of commission until you decide she can join in."

Grumblemon frowned, "Other human still problem. They distract Grumblemon and free Light girl. How me stop that?"

Grey eyes rolled as the girl pulled out another vial - this time a dark, misty blue - and uncorked it, allowing the mist to spread over the ground, "By my power over the great spirits of Darkness, he who lives beneath the ground, rise up and shield your master and you shall gain freedom."

Grumblemon smirked as Aoife raised one eyebrow. It was his turn. "My guard you be, my shield you be, me commanding you!"

Aoife nodded, watching with mild interest as the rings of brownish light encircled a large boulder, a metal helmet rising from the ground. Grumblemon smirked again as the helmet landed on the boulder, shaping it to form a giant, living rock, "Not even Light beast can stand up to power of Earth and Darkness!" As the giant bent down to him, Grumblemon's smirk eased slightly, becoming as much of a genuine smile as was possible from the evil Earth warrior. "Good morning new friend! How was nap?"

As the digimon bowed his head, Aoife glanced down at the device Cherubimon had entrusted her with that was meant to help her spirit evolve into the warrior of darkness. Baby blue and black, to match both her 'armour' and her element. As always, information on the recently-appeared digimon flashed up on her screen.

Golemon; made almost entirely of stone. His special attack - Sulphur Bloom - is a blast of volcanic gas that turns his enemies to ashes.

Aoife expected no thanks, and was given none as Grumblemon climbed onto Golemon's back, screaming that he was coming for the children. "Going down!" he cried, allowing the ground to warp him to wherever he planned to go.

Sighing, Aoife turned her gaze back to the sky, growling as the first pink streak of dawn appeared on the horizon, shedding light onto the barren, rocky cliff she was standing on. Shaking her head, she turned away, hand going to her pocket for her device.

She couldn't remain where her opposite shone. She was _Yami no Yami_, as the Japanese put it.

She was Darkness.  
Night.  
Shadows.  
Dusk.

Her opposite was Light.  
Dawn.  
The sun.  
**The Light girl**.

Muttering curses under her breath, she raised one arm, allowing fractal code to absorb it before slamming it into her device and screaming at the top of her lungs - not that it mattered, due to the fact that the sea breeze dragged most of her words into the deaf ocean, "EXECUTE! Spirit Evolution!"

The new figure wasn't exactly tall, roughly Kazemon's height and with much the same body. Black and silver armour coated her body and long, raggedy, blonde hair reached her curved hips. Black gloves with dragon-shaped covered her hands to her shoulders, a hidden, red blade attached to the wrist of each of them as a black piece of cloth covered her mouth and her eyes turned an emotionless grey. Several eyeballs dotted her armour (shoulders, hips, knees) and silver ankle boots covered her black tight-ed legs. Smirking, she drew one blade, cutting cleanly through a nearby tree as she called "Duskmon!" in a whisper, yet it was audible for several metres.

Smirking again, she leapt into the cover of a tree, moving by use of the branches as she rushed back to the hideout in the centre of the Dark Continent. Where Lord Cherubimon would be waiting.

* * *

"Isn't it nice to have a moment of peace and quiet?" Bokomon smiled, breaking the very silence he had been grateful for as he shifted among the tree roots he was sitting on.

Arlene sighed, closing her eyes and leaning against a tree trunk as Neemon suggested a game of charades. Her crown was still sitting awkwardly on her head, but she had gotten more used to it, especially when she could relate to Harry about it's awkwardness and the embarrassment that came with their duty of wearing it.

As she thought of Harry, the Princess had to fight back a blush, and, opening her eyes, she glanced across at the object of her thoughts, quickly looking away as she met his brown eyes.

"I thought I said **peace and quiet**!" Bokomon said - in barely less than a growl - as a few small, plant-like digimon popped up from the ground.

Poking at the digimon - which their D-Tectors identified as Tanemon - Neemon smiled, "I've always wanted to try that thing where I'm trapped in an imaginary box!"

Bokomon sighed, crossing his arms as Lydia narrowed her eyes slightly at his rabbit-eared friend, "If only the box were real."

Hearing another sigh, Arlene glanced down beside her to see John staring unseeingly at the ground, "I really messed up, didn't I?"

"It's fine, John," Chloe mumbled, hugging her knees to her chest. "It wasn't your fault in any way."

As John nodded - albeit only to make the half-French girl feel a bit better - Aaron frowned, clenching his fist as if imagining a miniature Grumblemon in the palm of his hand, "The next time I see him, I'll get your spirit back, C. Even if I'm alone in doing it."

By that stage, Neemon was throwing the Tanemon into the air with one hand, "Why would you want to do that?"

Bokomon nodded, agreeing with Neemon for one of the first times since the group of seven had met the two, swiping one paw through the air, "Based on your last encounter that wouldn't be very wise!

"SO WHAT?!" Aaron half-lunged at Bokomon, making the digimon - Tanemon included - fall over in surprise. "It's a hell of a lot better than sitting around here doing nothing! Chloe-"

"Is perfectly capable of taking care of herself," Harry cut the warrior of Thunder off, his eyes not leaving the ground. "She's not five, Aaron. She's a legendary warrior. It's not like she'd give herself up the second she saw the enemy. I think she's proved that on several occasions already."

Darren nodded in agreement, standing up, "Harry's right, buddy! We can't just fight pointless battles; we have to get to the Forest Terminal, remember?"

"So we're just supposed to let him win?" Aaron countered, making Arlene wonder if he was actually serious about fighting Grumblemon himself if it came to it.

I wonder if he'd be like this if anyone else's spirit was missing,

she mused as Aaron continued on his fight-Grumblemon rant.

"I can't just sit back and relax while Grumblemon's running around with Chloe's spirit!"

"It's fine, Aaron," Chloe sighed, glancing at the now-static screen of her pink-and-grey D-Tector.

Aaron crouched down so that he was almost eye-level with Chloe, his eyes burning with sincerity, "No, it's **not**, Chloe! The spirit of Wind is yours, you were **destined **to have it! We're gonna get it back!"

"Naaaww!" Arlene sighed quietly, enjoying the cute Aaron/Chloe moment playing out in front of her. Fortunately for her, no one heard it above Lydia's next comment, or they would never have let it go.

"Nice sentiment, but getting to the Forest Terminal is more important than fighting a battle we can't win."

"What is your **problem**, Lydia?! You'd be going absolutely crazy if it was your spirit Grumblemon stole!"

"Hn."

Obviously not satisfied with the response and small warning glare, Aaron smirked slightly, "But I understand if you're scared. Even the great Lydia O'Dwyer's not strong enough to beat Grumblemon!"

"**WHAT**?!"

"Who **cares** if you have your Beast Spirit? You can't even control it yet!"

"Aaron, that was a bit harsh," Arlene scolded lightly, placing a calming hand on the warrior of Thunder's shoulder as the blonde he had been arguing with moments before sent him a death glare, "We'll do our best to get Chloe's spirit back, but we don't stand a chance against Grumblemon right now. And getting to the Forest Terminal **is **more important than getting injured in pointless battles we've no hope of winning."

Aaron scowled, crossing his arms and turning away from the Princess as Harry, John and Darren attempted to calm Lydia down as well, "I guess no one else wants to help Chloe, then!"

"Guys!" Everyone - save Lydia and Arlene - jumped slightly as Chloe stood up and stalked over to them. "Don't do this! Let's just go to the Forest Terminal!"

"Not you too!" Obviously Aaron wasn't going to let it go without a fight.

"Aaron!" At this stage, even Arlene was getting exasperated. "Let it **go**! Even Chloe admits it's for the best!"

"Alright! That's it; I've had enough!" Bokomon cut off whatever Aaron was going to say, suddenly appearing behind Chloe, making the warrior of Wind jump and whip around. "I think it's time to do something more productive than stand here and argue! My friends, I believe the time has finally come!"

"Time for what?" Aaron queried, curiosity killing his argument almost instantly.

"Time to show you the path of wisdom!"

"There's a change," Chloe scoffed, gaining a nod of agreement from Aaron, and a nudge from Harry - who obviously didn't want to offend their 'guide', no matter how annoying.

"Wisdom is a path which is not easily walked!" Bokomon continued, as if the two had never spoken. "You must think about every choice, consider every option and know where each step will lead." Of course, at that moment, he tripped, landing in a puddle of mud with a small splash. Turning around, he blushed underneath the mud as Darren and John fought back laughter, "It seems wisdom has landed in a mud puddle…"

* * *

"So where's the path of wisdom taking us **this **time?" Aaron's voice was dripping with both sarcasm and curiosity, making Bokomon smile knowingly.

"Fortunetelling!"

"Fortunetelling?" everyone echoed in disbelief, Lydia narrowing her eyes.

Bokomon nodded, still smiling as he lead the way through multiple tents on a narrow, cobblestone street towards a large temple, "Shamanmon is the wisest digimon of them all!"

"If I said that, you'd say I was crazy!" Neemon protested randomly.

"You are crazy, but that's beside the point."

"So all of these guys can tell the future?" John queried, gazing around, awestruck.

Bokomon shook his head, glaring at a Monzaemon as he offered them a game of 'Squeeze the Pudgy Bear', "Most are phonies, but there are one or two real fortune tellers here."

"Come on! None of these guys can actually tell the future!" Aaron protested, scowling slightly before jumping as a Tanemon - not unlike the ones from earlier - hopped onto his shoulder.

"But we can! It's easy to see with you! There'll be a girl in your life who'll think your special!"

Glancing at Chloe, Aaron sighed, "Yeah right. She's already proven she doesn't like me…"

"Not now, silly! There **will** be a girl! And soon too!"

Aaron glanced down at the plant, for once ignoring Chloe's calls, "Huh?"

Seeing that Aaron might take a while, Arlene muttered for them to go on ahead while she and Harry waited for the warrior of Thunder.

Tanemon nodded before yelping indignantly as a taller version of it with a pink flower on its head picked it up, "Tanemon, what have I told you about telling people's fortunes?"

"But Mamamon!" Tanemon pouted. "I'm getting much better!"

The digimon - which their D-Tectors identified as a Palmon - nodded and smiled, "I know, dear. Just give it a few more days, alright?" When the Tanemon agreed and hopped into a tent, Palmon smiled apologetically at Aaron, "I'm so sorry about that. She's not very good yet. If you like, I'll give you a free love fortunetelling session to make up for it!"

"No thanks," Aaron growled, running to catch up to the other four without another glance in the Palmon's direction.

Sighing, it turned to Harry and Arlene, "What about you two?"

Before Harry could decline, Arlene shrugged, grinning widely, "Sure, why not?"

"Arlene," Harry groaned, glancing in the direction of the large temple. "We're supposed to be looking for Shamanmon!"

"The others can!" Arlene protested, glancing at him. "Come on, Harry! What are the chances we'll get our fortunes told in the digital world again?" Seeing Harry was still reluctant, she did her best puppy-dog eyes, "Please?"

"Fine," Harry rolled his eyes, groaning mentally as Arlene grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the tent. _This should be fun._

* * *

"Come on, you can ashk me anything short shtuff!" a digimon - Gekomon according to the D-Tectors - cried, grabbing Bokomon around the neck.

"Okay, how do you polish that tuba?" Neemon queried as the five following warriors paused.

"Wait a shecond, let me guessh! You're new to thish fortunetelling shtuff!"

"Just ignore him," Bokomon grumbled, dusting himself down before walking away, leaving Lydia watching the Gekomon curiously.

"I shall conjure up a potion made from orange juice and earwax and place it in a hat. Then, I shall drink it while shtanding on one leg! The reshult will be inshpiring my friendsh! Don't knock it 'til you try it!"

_Drunk idiot, _hearing Darren calling her, Lydia glanced up, running to catch up with the other four before glancing behind her.

"What's wrong?" Darren queried.

"Are you telling me you haven't even noticed that Arlene and Harry aren't here?" Lydia growled, trying to find the missing two among the mob of various digimon.

"Wow. They've been missing for five minutes and you're already worried? This is a huge improvement, Lydia!"

"Shut up, Darren."

"Can I just ask one question?"

"What?"

"If it was me would you still be worried?" when Lydia nodded, he grinned and pulled her into a half-hug. "Aaaw! I'm touched!"

"I **thought **I said **shut up**, Darren!" Lydia growled through gritted teeth, fighting back a blush, as a masked monkey beckoned them over.

Holding up his hands in surrender, Darren grinned at the digimon, "Cool, so what've you got, buddy?"

"Carry-Wood method!" the monkey replied.

"Which is…?" Chloe prompted impatiently.

"I give you these heavy, wooden sticks and then you carry them! One at a time!"

"And that tells you… what about our future?"

"That you will be stronger! The more wood you carry, the stronger you get! Get it? Carry-Wood method!"

"Sounds to me like he need those sticks somewhere else and couldn't be bothered to move them," Lydia grumbled as they quickly caught up to Bokomon.

"Why are we here, Bokomon? All these guys are nothing but weirdos trying to get money from travellers," Aaron complained as they reached the doors of a large temple.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Bokomon replied.

_Yeah, of course you do, _following the gnome inside, Aaron paused as he spotted a large, shadowy figure at the other end of the building.

"Shamanmon, I call upon your wisdom, your insight, and basically two cents of advice."

"Who calls upon Shamanmon?" came the scratchy and partly-familiar reply.

"Weary travellers in need of guidance from the universe!"

"Oh, you'll get guidance alright!" the figure turned around, making four of the group of five warriors gasp and stiffen.

"You're one of those evil Goblimon from the Wind Factory!" Darren pointed an accusing finger at the digimon as Aaron and Chloe nodded in agreement.

_I wonder why Lydia's not doing anything, _Aaron thought as he grabbed his D-Tector. _Oh, right. She wasn't with us._

"Come on, guys! Let's take him out!" Tommy yelled before Bokomon jumped in front of them, waving his arms hysterically.

"No, no, no! Shamanmon's one of the good guys! Shamanmon is a medium! He does a ceremonial dance and uses his magical club to see into the future!"

"You should be very careful."

All attention was now back on Shamanmon as he hopped from one foot to the other, waving his club in the air. "Ahead, you face much danger. You will come against a foe you have fought before, but then this foe has a friend and in meeting him, you will find that a friend has become a foe."

"I don't buy it," Darren muttered sceptically, smirking as John nodded in agreement. Beside the latter, Lydia was standing, mouth slightly open, one eyebrow raised, trying to decipher the fortune in her mind.

"Then listen to this!" Shamanmon jumped into the air, landing just in front of the three. "The greatest test will be faced by you two! This test has the power to destroy you all if you're not careful. If you do not want to be destroyed, remember who you are, trust in yourselves and your friendship." he pointed his club at Darren and John before turning to Lydia and performing the 'dance' again.

"And another will be faced by you. Family have turned to shadow, but in that shadow, no memories remain. The light that shines within must win out along with fire burning in heart, friends and peace of mind if the shadows are to be pure. But beware, this shadow is just a shadow. Become to attached and you will be subjected to much pain!"

Darren smirked and glanced sideways at Lydia, who's eyebrows were furrowed into a frown, "You're not seriously buying this, right buddy?"

"Hn."

Suddenly, a large earthquake made the entire temple shudder and Shamanmon - who was about to give Aaron a fortune - fall back and hit his head off the floor.

"Guys! Run for it!" Aaron cried, sprinting out of the building, shortly followed by the rest before they all froze as a large figure emerged from the rock.

"Me got big, angry surprise for spirit kids!" Grumblemon cried triumphantly.

"You will come against a foe you have fought before, but this foe has a friend," Lydia muttered as everyone pulled out their D-Tectors. "Shamanmon was right…"

As Golemon punched the ground in front of them, forcing them all back, she growled again, "One of these days, I'm gonna destroy that guy!"

"How about learning to work with the rest of us?" Chloe groaned as Neemon pleaded for someone to save him.

"One minute," Darren growled, his eyes not leaving Golemon until he punched the ground for the second time - once again forcing them back. "Okay, minute's over!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Agunimon!"  
"Kumamon!"  
"Beetlemon!"

"Time to call out the beast," Lydia growled, jumping into the air. "EXECUTE! BEAST SPIRIT-"

"Me no think so!" Grumblemon cut in, unstopping a vial and allowing a small dust to spread over the ground just as Lydia landed on one knee, creating a glowing, red star inside a circle.

Dropping her D-Tector, the warrior of Light gasped, struggling to reach it, "What's going on? I-I can't… move!"

"Sorry," Grumblemon chuckled, not looking the least bit sorry. "KendoGarurumon no play today thanks to Darkness! You no move until Grumblemon say so!"

Lydia growled, once again trying to grab her D-Tector as Kumamon jumped up, performing a 'Crystal Freeze'. _Where are Arlene and Harry?!_

* * *

"Thanks so much for telling our fortunes, Palmon," Arlene grinned as the two warriors sat at a table in the middle of the tent.

Waving off her thanks, Palmon beckoned for her hand, "It's no trouble. Now, let me see here… Oh, dear."

"What is it?" Arlene raised one eyebrow, heart thumping loudly in her chest as Palmon examined her palm.

"Um… you see… you have two boys who like you," at this point, Harry had to fight back a blush. "But one doesn't know how he feels yet. But soon, with music playing, he will tell you and if you decline his love immediately, something terrible will happen."

"What?" Now her heart was threatening to leap out of her throat as she licked her dry lips.

"Your second lover may decline another's love and if he does, friend will become a foe."

Palmon frowned, examining her palm again before grinning widely, "But if you both accept the other's love but explain that you don't feel the same way, love will reach you, the other friend, and your other lover, each in turn!"

Arlene nodded hesitantly, taking back her hand as Palmon beckoned for Harry's.

"Hm… this is interesting…"

"What is?" Harry queried, unsure if he wanted to know.

"You love another and are scared she doesn't love you. However, with music in the background, you too will have the courage to ask. But another rivals you and now you are worried that he will win. Trust me, my friend, you will gain the love you desire very soon."

Harry bit his lip, forcing himself not to glance at Arlene - who raised one eyebrow - as Palmon continued. "But, don't mistake me, it won't all be easy. The path of love if rougher than any you could possibly face. But, remember your priorities and all will be well. Fail to do so, and consequences may be severe."

Harry nodded, pulling his hand back, but Palmon grabbed it again. "And, although this isn't anything to do with love, I feel I must warn you; there will be two more, like yourselves, and unless you welcome them, one will turn to darkness."

Gulping, Harry nodded again before standing up and leaving the tent before Palmon could take his hand again. After thanking Palmon, Arlene quickly caught up to him, "What do you think she meant about two more joining us?"

"I'm not sure," Harry admitted, beginning to walk towards the temple they had been originally walking towards, passing a Gekomon drinking - what seemed to be - orange juice out of a hat on one leg, much to the amusement of several Poyomon. "They might be two of the other four legendary warriors."

"That's right. What ones haven't we met so far?" Arlene frowned, biting her lip thoughtfully. "Based on the others' spirits, they have to be elements, so water, metal, wood and… darkness?"

Harry nodded, but suddenly stopped, causing the warrior of Friendship to bump into him. Ignoring her apologies, he turned to face her, "Arlene, all of the other ten warrior spirits have element bases, but we're the warriors of Friendship and Harmony. Why don't we have elemental bases?"

For a moment, Arlene was stuck for an answer, but before she could answer, two earthquakes shook the entire road, making all of the digimon run into the tents. Grabbing a pole to keep himself standing, Harry glanced up, growling as he saw the flashes signifying his friends' evolutions, "Grumblemon!"

Arlene nodded, eyes narrowed as she grabbed her D-Tector, "Come on."

"Execute! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Flasinamon!"  
"Secociamon!"

* * *

"Kumamon!" Beetlemon cried as the bear was thrown to the ground. Clenching his fists, he lunged towards Golemon, "Thunder Fist!" The Golemon bent his head under the weight of the attack, but as soon as it ended, smirked and looked up. "I think he's mad!" Beetlemon cried, flying out of the way as the digimon opened his mouth.

"Sulpher Bloom!"

"Celestial Pyro Protector!"

Beetlemon - who had squeezed his eyes shut - blinked and gasped as a large, fiery bird took the hit for him before disappearing. Turning his head, he grinned as Secociamon ran towards Kumamon to help him up while Flasinamon flew into the air with him, "Arlene! Harry! Took you long enough!"

Flasinamon nodded gasping as Secociamon and Kumamon were thrown into several pillars due to another 'Sulphur Bloom', "Ready for a combo, guys?"

Beetlemon nodded, clenching his fists again, "Thunder Fist!"

"Celestial Wood Wrecker!"

"And last but not least," Agunimon smirked, jumping in front of the two flying digimon. "Pyro Tornado!"

Golemon growled, sent back a few metres by the force of all three attacks, but threw back his head, sending all five warriors to the ground with yet another 'Sulphur Bloom'.

"Ugh, is that his only move?" Flasinamon groaned, pushing herself up as Chloe bit her lip, obviously upset that she couldn't help.

"You can do it, guys! You just need to work together!"

Groaning, Beetlemon glanced up as Grumblemon jumped up and down on the pillar he was standing on to get a bird's eye view of the battle, "Enough! You surrender spirits now or be destroyed big time!"

"Am I the only one who wants to pull duck tape around his mouth?" Secociamon growled through gritted teeth.

Agunimon nodded, glancing at Kumamon who was still struggling to stand, "Yeah. Duck tape's not strong enough. We'd need about ten rolls, and even then he'd be able to talk. What we need is a plank of wood and some nails."

"Who cares what we use as long as he shuts up?" Flasinamon queried, flying into the air as Secociamon turned to glance at Lydia.

"Is there a reason KendoGarurumon isn't helping us and Lydia's on her knees with one hand raised?"

"Grumblemon trapped her in a… a… I don't know what it is, but she can't move properly," Agunimon admitted as said girl's hand fell as she struggled not to fall over.

"There's got to be something I can do! Anything!" Secociamon heard her growl as Golemon leaped into the air.

"Whatever it is, we need to get her out. I think it's draining her energy." As if to prove his point, Lydia half-fell onto her side, gritting her teeth as she tried to get herself into a kneeling position again, but although the prison allowed her to fall, it wouldn't allow her to move upwards in any way.

Beetlemon glanced at Lydia as well - much to her frustration due to hating needing help - and nodded, "Anyone got a suggestion?"

At that moment, Golemon punched the ground, forcing both Secociamon and Kumamon back a few steps. Agunimon nodded, grim determination burning in his eyes, "Yeah. Working **together**." As Golemon jumped again, the four met him in the air with Flasinamon beside them. "Hit him hard!"

"I've got this!" Kumamon smirked, pulling out his gun. "Blizzard Blaster!"

"Celestial Ice Shard!" Flasinamon cried, amplifying Kumamon's attack with her own.

"Lightning Blitz!" Beetlemon yelled, taking Golemon's attention off the two airborne figures as he charged head-first into the giant.

"Pyro Tornado!"

"Celestial Pyro Protector!"

As Agunimon kicked the Golemon towards the ground, the fire bird that had once protected Beetlemon charged at Golemon, driving him even further into the concrete.

"NO!" Grumblemon screeched as a large cloud of dust covered the area his friend had landed in before leaping into the air.

"Don't let him escape!" Agunimon cried.

Grumblemon smirked as the usual data cocooned him, "Me not going anywhere! Slide **Evolution! Gigasmon! Now, myself me take you spirits!"**

Ignoring Flasinamon's protests, Kumamon leapt into the air, gun at the ready, "Blizzard Blaster!"

"Quagmire Twister!"

Gigasmon countered, his attack deflecting the snowballs as he moved closer to Kumamon.

"JOHN!" Agunimon yelled as the bear was sucked into the tornado, but he simply ricocheted off Gigasmon's spinning arms as the bear was thrown out of the tornado again, fractal code and spirit appearing.

Smirking, Gigasmon opened his mouth and swallowed the spirit, causing John to revert to his human form.

Luckily, Flasinamon caught him and placed him carefully next to Chloe before the warrior of Ice could plummet to the ground, sustaining even more injuries.

"Yummy. Me have two now!"

Gigasmon announced before leaping into the air.

"Guys! What are you doing?! Get out of there!" Chloe shrieked as Secociamon quickly leapt in front of the two spiritless warriors along with Flasinamon to protect them.

"Tectonic Slam!"

Luckily for both of them, Agunimon and Beetlemon leapt - or flew - out of the way before Grumblemon hit the ground, but before anyone could attack again, a brilliant light errupted from Shamanmon's temple, and a large, half-dragon, half-lizard creature flew out from it, sending Gigasmon flying as he slammed into him.

As Gigasmon was sent crashing into a pillar, the creature let out an inhuman cry, making John run a little way away from it.

"What is that thing?!" Agunimon cried as he gaped at it.

"Other than bad news?" Beetlemon suggested sarcastically as Bokomon countered the statement, saying that it might be on their side.

"Okay, but," Agunimon bit his lower lip slightly. "Somehow, I seriously doubt it."

As the digimon suddenly laughed in a maniacal manner, Golemon leapt up from underground, grabbing the creature's - who made no move to escape - legs and slowly pulling him underground, much to Gigasmon's amusement, **"You go bye now!"**

However, unfolding his wings, the creature slowly lifted the giant digimon into the air, aiming his arm-blasters at him as Beetlemon suggested they move further away.

Firing continuosly, the creature didn't relent until Golemon released his legs and fell towards the ground, deleting him as his fractal code appeared, leaving nothing behind save a small, metal helmet. Gasping in both horror and fear, Gigasmon dug underground as the creature lunged at him, **"I go bye now!"**

Now that Gigasmon was gone, however, Lydia was freed from her glowing prison and forced herself up from the position she had fallen into - half-sitting, half-lying down - and grabbed her D-Tector, quickly running towards Chloe and John, who was shaking uncontrollably.

"He's really strong," John muttered as the creature let out yet another inhuman cry.

"Too strong," Lydia growled as she reached them, hand gripping her D-Tector even though she was fighting to stay standing.

"If he comes after us we'll have no chance of defeating him!" Bokomon announced, ushering the three de-digivolved warriors away. "Time to go!"

"Agunimon! Are you deaf or something?" Secociamon asked, as Beetlemon and Flasinamon began flying after the others. "We need to go!"

"A-alright," Agunimon muttered, turning around as the creature let out another cry, but this time, he could understand every word of it.

Help… me!

Gasping, Agunimon and Secociamon turned around as Flasinamon flew back, equal shock etched on her face.

I'm possessed… by the… Beast Spirit!

"Shamanmon?" Agunimon queried as Flasinamon landed beside him, much to the shock of their five friends.

Please rescue me! I was in the temple when the Beast Spirit was revealed!

An image of Shamanmon reaching out to touch a glowing figure flashed before Agunimon's eyes as he narrowed them.

The instant I touched it I was possessed! Please help me!

Agunimon glanced sideways at the two Royals, who's eyes were wide, "You heard that too, right?" When they nodded, he gritted his teeth, taking a step forward. "Then I'm not imagining it. I have to help him!"

"Guys! What are you doing?" Beetlemon groaned, glancing back over his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Shamanmon, I can help you," Agunimon soothed, continuing to take confident steps forward, not even hesitating, even when flames erupted from the Beast of Fire.

Jumping out of the way as a fireball was thrown at him, Agunimon growled, "Pyro Tornado!"

Deflecting the hit using his arm-blaster-shield, the creature smirked, letting loose using his laser shots.

"No!" Both Chloe and John cried in horror as Agunimon was sent crashing into a pillar and Flasinamon and Secociamon de-digivolved after creating a large crater in the concrete where they had landed twenty feet away from the Fire warrior.

Growling, Agunimon glanced up as the creature lunged forward, pressing down on his back with his foot and driving him into the ground. _I was __**trying**__ to help you!_

In mid-strike, the creature suddenly froze, trembling as if struggling with himself.

"What's he waiting for? Agunimon, get out of there!" Beetlemon called as both Harry and Arlene ran towards the other de-digivolved warriors.

Strike… now!

Agunimon gasped, his eyes widening.

NOW! HURRY!

Nodding, Agunimon kicked the creature away, jumped up and punched his fists together, allowing the usual flames to surround them as everyone else - save Harry and Arlene, who could also hear the creature - gaped at him, wondering what he was doing, "Pyro Tornado!"

Throwing the fireballs at the digimon, Agunimon growled as he fell backwards, his fractal code appearing, "You'll be free in a moment, Shamanmon! My D-Tector should release you! Fractal code, digitise!"

As Shamanmon hit the ground, unconscious, however, Agunimon let out a cry of shock and horror as the Beast Spirit flew towards him and was absorbed into his armour.

As he was cocooned in data, Beetlemon froze, "Guys, something's going wrong!"

"Oh, no! This is all my fault!"  
"Do you think he'll be able to control it?"  
"I doubt it!"  
"Guys, we need to have faith in him!"  
"DARREN! NO! BACK OFF!" _And in meeting this friend, you will find that a friend has become a foe. Damn it!_

Arlene, being the only one who had heard Lydia, glanced at her oddly, but smiled knowingly, seeing worry, pain and confusion all over her face. _Another friend loves another. I guess these guys really can predict the future!_

Turning back to the battle, she gasped as Agunimon - still cocooned in data - leapt into the air, "Slide **Evolution! BurningGreymon!"**

"Holy s… ock!" Neemon quickly re-worded his sentence after a quick glance at John, who pretty much guessed what it was anyway.

"For once, I completely agree!" Bokomon stuttered, eyes wide as he stared at BurningGreymon.

"Oh, no… Darren… NO!" Lydia cried as BurningGreymon allowed flames to erupt from various places in his armour.

"It seems that the Beast Spirit has possessed him," Bokomon muttered, eyes now even wider as BurningGreymon turned to face them.

As BurningGreymon lunged forward, Beetlemon gasped, "Darren, don't! It's me!"

"Take cover!" Bokomon cried, running towards shelter with Neemon, Chloe and John as BurningGreymon slammed Beetlemon into the ground.

Arlene and Harry immediately grabbed their D-Tectors, but Aoife refrained from doing so.

"Execute! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Flasinamon!"  
"Secociamon!"

Taking a shaky step forward as the two Royals met much the same faith as Beetlemon - except with tents, buildings and pillars, Lydia growled, "Darren! They're our friends!"

Shifting his attention to the only de-digivolved warrior in his sights, BurningGreymon lunged at her, driving his arm-blaster-shield into the earth just in front of her and sending her sprawling to the ground, "It's me, Lydia! Don't you recognise me?"

At this stage, hurt was evident in her voice as she lowered her eyes slightly and forced herself up, but not noticing it, BurningGreymon lunged at her again, making her blood boil. This wasn't Darren. This was an animalistic spirit using Darren. It had forced him to forget his friends. Forget her. And that pissed her off, "Fine, then! BurningGreymon, you're **dead**!"

The last bit was said so quietly that only the Beast of Fire heard it, but the venom and utter hatred concealed in it made even him falter as she whipped out her D-Tector, which was shining and almost blinding, white light.

"EXECUTE! BEAST SPIRIT EVOLUTION!"

Her evolution seemed to everyone outside like normal, even though they had all noticed that she had just-less-than screamed the words, but it felt like it was completely tearing her apart. Anger flashed before her eyes, but she forced it down, remembering how hard the Beast Spirit was to control if she let her emotions cloud her vision. Relaxing slightly as the pain dimmed, she threw back her head, **"KendoGarurumon!"**

Letting out a howl, she lowered her wheels and skidded to a halt next to Beetlemon and Secociamon while Flasinamon circled BurningGreymon overhead, glad that she was under control of her spirit.

Narrowing her eyes, she glared at BurningGreymon as Beetlemon stood up, "Guys, this is crazy! You can't fight one another!" When neither warrior relented, he took another step towards them. "Lydia! Darren, stop it!"

As BurningGreymon let out yet another inhuman cry of rage, KendoGarurumon's shoulders shook slightly as she fought back a small sob and Flasinamon landed next to Beetlemon, "He can't stop, Beetlemon. Because that's not Darren."

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Did you like it? Or not? Either way, please, please, **please **review and interview a character!


	13. Chapter 12: I Burn The Love

Hey, guys! I'm back with another chapter of F02!

Nothing to really say, so just reviews and on with the chapter-

Oh, wait! Just one thing! READ THEDARKSPARTAN'S STORY! IT **ROCKS**!

**I don't own digimon. Only my OC's and the fem version of ol' Dusky!**

* * *

**Reviews:**

**LacrymosaRules: **Thanks! Thought you'd like that bit! I bet you'd like if that actually happened! *wink* And it's not perfect, but thanks anyway. See you tomorrow!

**DigiFan-Capp: **Thanks loads and I have it done!... Well, most of it at least... (Irish class the next day: NEED. TO. FINISH. HOMEWORK!)

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**Frontier 02: The Legend of the Irish Warriors  
Chapter 12  
I Burn the Love**

* * *

BurningGreymon let out a loud cry of rage as he kneed Beetlemon in the chin, sending the warrior of Thunder crashing into a nearby pillar.

As the fire Beast landed a hit on both Royals - causing them to end up in much the same position as Beetlemon - KendoGarurumon growled, lunging forwards, "**Darren! You need to stop this! We're your-**"

However, she was cut off as BurningGreymon's tail sent her sprawling onto her back. Picking Beetlemon up by his throat - and almost throttling him - BurningGreymon tossed him on top of the mechanical wolf, smirking sadistically as both let out a small grunt of pain.

"Time to fight fire with fire," Secociamon growled, leaping into the air. "**Celestial Pyro Protector!**"

"**Celestial Tornado Whip**!" Flasinamon yelled, amplifying Secociamon's attack with her own, which sent BurningGreymon skidding a few… centimetres before he looked up at them angrily, unphased by the attack.

After he had sent the two to the ground again, he let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

"**There has to be a way to get him back to normal!**" KendoGarurumon cried, her voice shaking slightly. Flasinamon bit her lip, feeling more than a little depressed for her friend.

Secociamon growled, narrowing his eyes at BurningGreymon, "We might have to purify him-"

"**No!**" KendoGarurumon snarled, her voice laced with venom directed at Secociamon, "**No, there has to be another way!**"

Beetlemon sighed, glancing sideways at the wolf, "KendoGarurumon, we have to fight him."

Flasinamon nodded in agreement, flying into the air, "Beetlemon's right. If we don't, he'll take out the whole area, and John and Chloe with it!"

Glancing back at their spiritless friends, KendoGarurumon nodded, growling as she turned back to BurningGreymon, "**You want to fight something? Fight this!**"

Seeing BurningGreymon looking at him, Beetlemon flew out of the way as KendoGarurumon lunged forward, "Don't look at me!"

"Is she really gonna try and fight him?" Chloe queried, her green eyes clouded with anxiety. "What if they hurt one another?"

Flasinamon, who had been right next to her, growled slightly, "It's not Lydia I'm worried about, she'll be fine. I'm worried about what she'll do to Darren."

"What do you mean?" John sounded just as confused as he felt as Flasinamon sighed.

"I'm afraid she might get too angry and her Beast Spirit may take control of her."

At that moment, BurningGreymon unclenched his fist, revealing three, long sharp claws as he ran towards KendoGarurumon.

"**Lupine Laser!**" She yelled, watching in dismay as her target dodged a split second before her attack landed, jumping into the air and landing on her head.

Growling, Flasinamon flew forward, hair streaming behind her, "**Celestial Meteor Surge!**"

The attack didn't hit BurningGreymon either, but it got him off of KendoGarurumon's head long enough for her to avoid him landing on it again.

As BurningGreymon landed on the ground again, Flasinamon being the new target, Beetlemon growled, shoving him away, "That's enough!" As the fire Beast hit the ground, he beckoned to the other warriors to follow him as he led the way into a forest, "Come on, before someone gets hurt!"

Standing up, BurningGreymon turned his arm-shield-blasters around so that they were now facing his targets and he let loose with the fiery lasers, "**PYRO BARRAGE!**"

As the lasers hit the trees, the bark immediately caught fire, fire that spread until it was surrounding the four.

"Someone has to stop him before this entire place is nothing but ash!" Secociamon cried as Flasinamon aimed her 'Aqua Barrage' attack at as many of the flames as she could manage.

"**I'll stop him,**" KendoGarurumon growled, her voice angrier than any one of the warriors had ever heard. Lowering her wheels, she narrowed her eyes, rushing forwards, unfortunately cutting down several trees in the process, "**Howling Star!**"

"If he were fighting trees, he'd be deadly!" Neemon announced.

"Well he's deadly anyway, so let's get out of here!" Bokomon yelled, running towards the part of the forest that wasn't aflame.

John growled, clenching his fists, _If only I could spirit evolve to Kumamon! But… I can't…_

"John! Stop daydreaming! Come on, we need to get out of here!" Chloe cried, grabbing his arm and pulling him after her.

Staring at the ruined trees, Beetlemon sighed, "If he keeps this up, they're gonna have to rename this place the Burnt-To-A-Crisp Kingdom!"

KendoGarurumon was about to nod in reply when, hearing something behind her, she turned around, only to be sent flying as BurningGreymon's knee met her chin.

Barely registering the fact that both Secociamon and Beetlemon were in the same situation, KendoGarurumon forced herself up, narrowing her eyes as he placed a foot on Beetlemon's stomach, ready to crush the Thunder warrior beneath him.

"Darren, don't! It's me, Aaron!" Beetlemon cried in panic as KendoGarurumon swayed slightly, trying to stay standing as the clearing spun around her.

Quite suddenly, BurningGreymon froze as KendoGarurumon hit the ground again, this time because of dizziness.

_Wait, what am I doing? _Darren wondered, staring at Beetlemon.

_~You're defeating your enemies~ _a small voice replied.

_But these are my friends! Not enemies!_

_~Then answer me this; why are they attacking you?~_

_They're not-_

_~Oh, really? Take a look at what they're doing now!~_

Glancing at the three he had been fighting, and Flasinamon as she flew down to meet them, having doused the fire, Darren frowned as he watched them tense into fighting stances.

_They're… about to fight me…_

_~Exactly~_

_If they're my friends, why are they attacking me?_

_~They're not your friends! They are your enemies!~_

He let out an even worse cry as the Beast Spirit took over again, lashing out at the four with his claws, tail, head, anything that would cause damage to them.

Ahead of them, Chloe paused, turning around, "It… it doesn't even sound human…"

"Of course it doesn't," Bokomon sighed, more than slightly impatient to leave. "Hence the name, **Beast **Spirit."

"But… it's like Darren's not even in there! Can't we help?" She pleaded, her eyes wide.

Bokomon sighed again, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards a large pile of rocks, "No. He has to learn to control the Beast Spirit on his own, and sooner or later, he will."

"It's the later part I'm worried about," Neemon whimpered, ears drooping.

Hearing a smashing sound, they all froze in terror as BurningGreymon crushed the rock in front of them, eyes narrowed dangerously. "When's sooner gonna get here?" Neemon squeaked, ducking behind Bokomon.

Before BurningGreymon could move, however, Secociamon shoved him away from the others, almost taking the two of them over the edge of the cliff in the process as the four ran back towards the forest.

John suddenly stopped running, watching as BurningGreymon knocked Secociamon over the edge of the cliff with his tail, the latter only saving himself by grabbing onto a small ledge.

_I can't keep running, _he realised as Beetlemon was slammed into KendoGarurumon, who fell on Flasinamon in turn. _Darren needs me! This is just like before…_

**Flashback**

Hearing a small sob, John had glanced up from the swing he had been sitting on, watching as a small group of bullies knocked a small child - no more than five years old - to the ground.

"Aw, did the wittle baby dwop his books?" One - who he later identified as Jamie - asked, mock sympathy in his voice.

"Then you know he's gonna fall down!" one of his accomplices smirked, pushing the boy into the sand.

Standing up, John had frowned, _I should help him…_

Turning to face John, Jamie had smirked, "Look, another baby!"

"Oh, God!" John gasped, turning and sprinting as fast as he could away from the bullies.

**Flashback End**

_But what can I do? _He frowned as Flasinamon was thrown over the edge and onto Secociamon, who almost immediately de-digivolved. Luckily, Flasinamon caught him and flew him up to the top of the cliff before the Prince could fall. _Those kids were bigger than me, and BurningGreymon's even bigger._

But then, as Beetlemon was slammed full force into the ground, John growled, "Darren! No, stop it!"

As he ran forward, he blocked everything from his hearing aside from the blood pounding in his ears, watching as KendoGarurumon was then slammed on top of Beetlemon. As she leapt up and ran out of physical range, John clenched his fists, "Darren, please, you have to stop! Fight it! I just know this isn't you, you wouldn't want to hurt us!"

Taking a deep breath, John took a small step forwards, flinching slightly as BurningGreymon stepped away, "You're just afraid."

"**Darren, listen to him**!"  
"Come on, Pringles, it's us!"  
"Fight it, Darren! We know you can do it!"

John smiled as he gained three of the warriors who had been fighting's support, flinching as he realised the only reason Harry's voice wasn't adding it's agreement was because he was out cold in Flasinamon's arms.

Letting out a small cry, BurningGreymon narrowed his eyes at John, as if trying to recognise him.

"Don't you get it?" John indicated towards everyone within BurningGreymon's range of sight, smiling hopefully, "We're your friends! We just want to help you!"

Suddenly, BurningGreymon's eyes reddened again, obviously seeing the indications as a threat, and rushed forwards, grabbing John and lifting the boy into the air, ignoring his cries of shock and fright.

"JOHN!" Beetlemon cried, glaring at KendoGarurumon. "Why'd you let him go up there?"

"**Me? You're the one with wings! You could have flown him back to the others**!" KendoGarurumon protested.

"But-"

"SHUT IT!"

Both warriors whipped around to see Flasinamon glaring at them, "Now is **not **the time to be fighting! KendoGarurumon, is there any way you could trip BurningGreymon so Beetlemon or I could fly John back to the others?"

"**Not without possibly crushing John,**" KendoGarurumon growled, eyes clouded with worry as she watched the scene unfolding before them.

"Darren, wait! Don't you remember what happened?" John protested, staring straight into the fire Beast's eyes. "True courage isn't having revenge on bullies, just standing up to them! If you strike out in fear, you're just as bad as them. You can't let fear control you, you have to fight it!" By this stage, tears were streaming down the ten-year-old's face.

BurningGreymon frowned, loosening his grip slightly. _Maybe he's right…_

_~Even if he is, you're not attacking out of fear. You're fighting the enemy.~_

"I know you won't hurt me if you remember we're friends," John continued as a small tear hit BurningGreymon's eye.

_Friends…_

_~Wait… what are you doing?~_

_They're my friends!_

_~They're attacking you!~_

_No, they're attacking __**you**__! John's right, only cowards and bullies strike out in fear, and I'm neither!_

_~Hm…~_

The voice paused for a moment, before Darren got the strange sensation that someone was shrugging. _~Very well, if they truly are your friends, then I won't influence your decisions to fight. This spirit is yours.~_

Darren's eyes widened as he placed John on the ground, memories of what he did flooding into his mind as John smiled. Rushing towards the largest rock he could find, he smashed his head against it. He just wanted - no, he **needed** - to get out of that form. **Now**.

Sobs racking his body as he hit his head again and again until the rock smashed and he was reverted to his human form. He clutched his head, tears falling slowly down his cheeks as everyone de-digivolved, watching him sadly, but only Lydia and John walked over to him, and even they didn't say anything.

And that was what hurt him the most.

* * *

Taking a sip of water, Darren glared at his reflection in the small spring, _I could have killed them. Some DigiDestined leader I am…_

Taking a step towards the brunette, John smiled softly, "Hey, Darren? You're not… hurt or anything, are you?"

Turning to face the glass-covered eyes, Darren smiled coldly, "I should be asking **you **that. You saved everyone back there. It was really brave, John!"

"Erm… It… it was nothing," John muttered, ducking his head to hide his blush as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. "But thanks."

"No, it wasn't nothing!" Darren insisted, standing up. "It was without a doubt the bravest thing I've ever seen!"

"Well, I did kinda owe you one," John smiled, holding out his hand to shake Darren's, "So now we're even! Deal?"

As Darren nodded, taking John's handed with a half-hearted grin, Bokomon smiled dramatically, "Ah, the trials of friendship. Take note, you four, for when you get your Beast Spirits, Harry and Arlene especially!"

"Um… Chloe, you go first!" Aaron smiled cheerily, glancing at the green-eyed girl.

"Oh, no, you first, Aaron!" she countered, smiling as well. "I insist!"

"No, you!"  
"You!"  
"YOU!"  
"**YOU!**"

"How about I go first?" Harry queried, eager to stop any arguments after the BurningGreymon incident. He had only come around ten minutes previously, his head pounding, and the yelling didn't exactly help matters.

"NO! I WANT TO GO FIRST!" Both Aaron and Chloe shrieked at the same time, glaring at the brunette, who put a hand to his temple, wincing slightly.

"You have to get back the spirits Grumblemon stole first," Bokomon added, staring at the two black-haired teens, _Talk about bipolar…_

"Thanks, **really **needed to be reminded of that," Darren remarked sarcastically, glancing at the symbol of Fire on the screen of his D-Tector. _But even if we find the Beast Spirits and get back the stolen ones, it won't do us much good if we loose control…_

"So, how exactly are we supposed to find Grumblemon?" Lydia asked dryly, stepping towards Darren. "It seems harder to avoid him than to find him."

"How about we just go… that way?" Arlene suggested, pointing in a random direction. "We're bound to find him at some point."

"Don't you mean he's bound to find us?" Lydia scowled, kicking a pebble into the spring.

Shrugging, Darren turned to face her, "Same difference."

"Sounds good to me," Chloe grinned as Harry and John nodded in agreement while Lydia's scowl faded a small bit.

"C, I know you want your spirit back, but how can running into Grumblemon be **good**?!" Aaron exclaimed as he began following Darren.

"You'd better hope you get your Beast Spirit before I get Kazemon back, cause when I do, you'd better watch your back!"

"Now I know what Bokomon meant by the trials of friendship…"

* * *

"The book says the roots make the forest path treacherous," Bokomon read, frowning sceptically.

"Um, Bokomon?" Harry tried to get the digimon's attention, but the gnome's eyes were firmly glued to his precious book.

"That's ridiculous! Whoever heard of dangerous roots?"

"Bokomon?" This time, Arlene joined Harry with trying to get their guide's attention.

"There's nothing dangerous here other than the possibility of Grumblemon finding us!"

"Bokomon, I really think you should-" Harry winced slightly as he was cut off by a dull thump as Bokomon tripped over an abnormally large root, his face hitting his book as he landed. "…Watch where you're going…"

As Aaron ran ahead, Bokomon glared at Harry and Arlene, "Next time, warn me when I'm about to trip over something!"

Anime sweat dropping, they glanced up as Aaron beckoned them towards him, "Hey guys! Any idea what's up with these roots?"

Glancing at the roots, Neemon grinned, "It's like a maze!"

"No really," Bokomon countered, frowning slightly as he glanced at the seven lines of roots, smaller ones joining the larger nes until they reached the bottom where there were six 'X's and one 'O'. "All the roots just connect."

"Let's make it a maze!" John suggested, grinning widely as he pulled Darren to the starting root on the far right. "Everyone pick a root!"

In the end, it went - from right to left - Darren and John, Lydia, Aaron, Bokomon and Neemon, Harry, Chloe and Arlene.

"Ready?" Darren called, grabbing John's hand. "Set… GO!"

The air was filled with small chuckles and giggles as they ran down their roots, switching whenever they met a crossover.

In the end - although they ended up being last - Darren and John landed on the 'O', "We won!"

Groaning slightly, everyone glanced down at their 'X', Lydia cursing herself for not going with Darren before John got there.

"Big deal," Aaron muttered. "Not like there's a prize or anything."

All of a sudden, the ground beneath the 'X's disappeared to reveal a large pool of wet soil, which dragged everyone down - struggling - until eventually Lydia yelled, "STOP MOVING! It's only dragging us down faster!"

"Here, grab onto this!" Darren called as they stopped sinking, throwing a long, sturdy vine towards them.

"About time!" Aaron muttered under his breath as he grabbed the vine, attempting to pull himself closer to the edge.

Grabbing the vine, Lydia's heart pounded loudly in her chest as she reached reaching distance to the edge and Darren reached down a hand to help her out.

She was about to grab it when a large explosion of dirt made her stop as she glanced sideways.

The dirt cleared, revealing a very familiar and unwelcome gnome as he smirked menacingly.

Gasping, Darren froze, realising that the only person with an under-control Beast Spirit was stuck in the mud. Literally. "Oh, God, no! Grumblemon!"

"Oh… whatever you say, yes, Grumblemon!" he smirked again, glancing at the five warriors in the mud. "And you just where me wants you!"

Pointing at Darren and John, he smirked, "Looks like you two won race! Too bad big winners now big time losers! It be spirit-taking time!"

"Actually I think it's getting stuck in the mud time," Neemon sighed, yelping slightly as Bokomon somehow managed to snap his waistband, even through the mud.

"You be quiet!" Grumblemon snapped, glaring at Neemon, "Or you learn hard way it really hammer-smashing time!"

"Hey! Your fight's with **us**, not him!" Arlene yelled, struggling to free herself from the mud as Grumblemon laughed.

"No, my fight be with him!" Grumblemon growled, pointing at Takuya, who stiffened.

"H-how about we just be friends?"

"No, no, NO!" he shrieked, not unlike a small child. "You know you loose and you cause much trouble! Now I no play nice!"

"So we're supposed to just **hand over **our spirits?" Darren cried, enraged. "Forget it! If we haven't done it before, we're not doing it now!… E-e-especially now I h-have my B-Beast Spirit…"

As Grumblemon moved forwards, Darren pushed John behind him, "Now why me think me should no be 'fraid of that?"

"Well, you should be!" the holder of Fire yelled. "Cause it's the one that defeated you earlier today!"

"Only that powerful if you can control," Grumblemon smirked. "And me think you not learn how, or why you not use yet?"

Jumping slightly, Darren took a small step back, biting his lip. Grumblemon smirked, glancing behind him at John, "See? You tell me all I need know!" Pulling his hammer out of the ground, he slammed it on the ground where Darren and John had been a split second before as Darren pushed John up into a tree to protect him.

Smirking again, Grumblemon took a step forwards as he was cocooned in data, "Slide Ev**olution! Gigasmon!**"

Growling, Darren whipped out his D-Tector, allowing the usual ring to surround his hand, "Execute! Spirit Evolution! Agunimon!"

As he prepared for his usual attacks, Bokomon gasped, "Hasn't the forest seen enough fire today?"

Nodding, Agunimon lowered his arms, still glaring at Gigasmon, "Right."

Going for physical attacks, Agunimon lunged at Gigasmon, but was beaten off as the latter spun around, "**Quagmire Twister!**"

Screaming in fright as his momentum ended and he began to fall, Agunimon braced himself as he heard John shriek Darren's name and a large hand grabbed the latter. Latching onto a tree branch, Agunimon glared at Gigasmon, "Leave him alone! It's my spirits you want!"

"**True**," Gigasmon smirked. "**But he be good way to get yours! You want him, you have to take him!**"

Growling as Gigasmon leapt away, Agunimon glanced back worriedly at his friends, "Guys…"

"Darren, go!" Lydia called. "We'll be fine, and we **are **going to be stuck here for a while, even if you do help us!"

When Agunimon still looked unsure, Harry groaned, "Darren, John's in a worse position than we are! Go get him!"

Nodding, Agunimon leapt up into the tree, jumping from branch to branch until he reached the top and pushed his head through the leaves.

"**When play hide and seek, you really need seek, you know,**" Gigasmon called as he emerged from the leaves the next tree over.

Growling, Agunimon leapt at Gigasmon, but was shoved onto the next branch, and then - in turn - into the bark of the tree as Gigasmon kicked against the bottom of his spine.

As Gigasmon grabbed a vine and swung through the trees, John whimpering slightly in his grasp, Agunimon growled, grabbing the next vine he could reach and swinging after him.

"**Not bad**," Gigasmon complimented before smirking. "**Course, not good either.**"

"Wait until I get my hands on you!" Agunimon growled, narrowing his eyes as Gigasmon swung behind a tree. _Alright, he should be in this next one…_

Growling, he moved to jump off the vine, but he didn't anticipate the clenched fist punching his stomach, causing him to fall off the vine.

"NO! AGUNIMON!" he heard John yell, but at that stage he was shrieking as he fell in between the treetops of the smaller trees.

"THIS IS GONNA HURT!" Thud. "I… was… right…"

Groaning, he was reverted to his human form as his friends cried out his name.

"Darren! Come on, Darren, you're fine, right?" Lydia asked, half-sounding like she was trying to convince herself.

Groaning again, he nodded, jumping up as he realised something, "Gigasmon's still got John! And… I don't know if I can save him…"

"Looks like you're going to need your Beast Spirit!"

Snapping his head up, Darren glared at Lydia, who - surprisingly - flinched away from the glare, "How can you say that? I can't control it! You saw what happened earlier! I could end up killing you all, and this time you can't call out KendoGarurumon and Beetlemon!"

For a moment, there was only hurt in Lydia's eyes, but then they became cold and impassive, "I never knew you were one to quit on your friends, Darren."

"I'm not, but-"

"BUT NOTHING! JOHN NEEDS YOU, AND IF YOU WANT TO SAVE HIM, YOU NEED TO SPIRIT EVOLVE INTO BURNINGGREYMON!"

Darren growled, narrowing his eyes, but before he could retaliate, Arlene smiled, "You don't need to be scared, Darren."

"Yeah, just remember what John said!" Chloe added, grinning.

"Remember who your friends are and you'll be fine!" Harry grinned.

Aaron nodded in agreement, about to say something, but gasping as they heard a scratchy, dry laugh as John was lowered from a tree by a long vine that tied his arms to his sides, "What? Not want to help friend?"

"JOHN!" Darren yelled, glaring at Gigasmon, who smirked.

"**Playtime over! You give me spirit and you give me spirit now! And then maybe you save him!**"

Growling, Darren glanced down at the ground as he grabbed his D-Tector - as if he really was going to give it to Gigasmon - but John made him stop, "No, Darren! Don't do it! Don't trade your spirit for me! It's okay, I'm not afraid!"

"**You should be**," Gigasmon growled, pulling John back up to him, ignoring the fact that his glasses had landed in front of Darren and smirking at him. "**Some friend you be. You not even give spirit to save friend**!"

"I'm not afraid of you!" John growled, blinking rapidly to try and see… well, anything.

Gigasmon turned to the younger boy, narrowing his eyes, "**You should be!**"

Growling, Darren reached down and picked up John's glasses, putting them in his pocket before he grabbed his D-Tector, "Alright, fine! Gigasmon, I'll give you my spirit!"

Looking up in interest, Gigasmon yelped slightly and grabbed a vine, swinging away as he saw what Darren had in mind.

"EXECUTE! BEAST SPIRIT EVOLUTION! **BURNINGGREYMON!**"

"**So, let's see if can control,**" Gigasmon smirked, landing on a branch twenty metres away from him.

Growling, BurningGreymon ran towards him, crashing into the tree as if to knock him down.

_~Why are you attacking him when you should be attacking your enemies?~_

_Shut up_

_~But-~_

_I SAID SHUT UP!_

Slamming his tail into the next tree, BurningGreymon smirked as Gigasmon fell, only staying airborne due to the fact that he had grabbed the branch with one hand, dropping John as BurningGreymon chucked a sharp, thick branch at his hand.

Shrieking as he fell towards the ground, John was only vaguely aware that BurningGreymon was rushing forward to catch him. All he could hear was the blood pounding in his ears, his own scream and Gigasmon's laugh.

Leaping forwards, BurningGreymon caught the falling boy, landing flat on his stomach and skidding to a stop, "**John, you're not hurt are you?"**

John shook his head, and then grinned, "Hey! You're controlling your Beast Spirit!"

Inside his head, Darren heard the voice snort and say, _~Not likely. Buuut, I guess you can borrow it for now. I have no real use for it. Good luck, warrior of Fire~_

BurningGreymon nodded, standing up, "**Thanks to you, buddy!"**

"I'll help the others," John insisted, blinking again. "You go beat that guy!"

Nodding, BurningGreymon flew up into the air, catching Gigasmon and whirling him around, "**You're the one who likes twisters, right? Well, enjoy!"**

He smirked as Gigasmon fell through the trees, hitting the ground with a loud thud. But the beast of Earth just stood up again, growling, "**Now you're mine! QUAGMIRE Twister!**"

Yelping as he avoided the twister, BurningGreymon watched as he smashed through several trees, not giving a damn about the destruction he was causing.

If I use fire attacks, I'll set fire to the whole forest! I guess I'll just have to do it the old fashioned way!

Growling as Gigasmon leapt at him and he was cocooned in data, Darren spotted a small cliff and smirked. _Perfect. _"**Execute! Slide **Evolution! Agunimon!"

Leaping up as Gigasmon jumped after him, Agunimon grabbed a vine, swinging towards the edge of the forest where he had seen the cliff. _Whatever happens, I need to get him away from the others! Especially Arlene and Lydia- I mean especially John! _Muttering curses under his breath, Agunimon glanced behind him, smirking as he saw Gigasmon struggling to catch up, "What's the matter, buddy? Am I going to fast for ya?" Smirking again as he reached the cliff, Agunimon skidded to a halt, "You're not getting tired, buddy, are ya? Cause we can take a break whenever you want!"

"**Even if me tired, you still get defeated good! Have you forgotten me warrior of Earth?**" Gigasmon growled, leaping up. "**Tectonic SLAM!**"

Glancing around as he ran to avoid falling into the large, bowl-like structure Gigasmon had created with a large pillar in the middle - which the warrior of Earth was standing on - Agunimon laughed awkwardly, "Actually I kinda had, but have **you **forgotten something? Slide **Evolution! BurningGreymon!**" He smirked as Gigasmon still remained mystified. "**Out here, there's no forest to burn! Pyro BARRAGE!**" When Gigasmon grimaced as the attack ended, BurningGreymon growled slightly. "**Alright, you wanna play some more, huh? Wildfire TSUNAMI!**"

Yelping as the attack hit, Gigasmon went limp as his fractal code appeared, along with the four spirits he possessed.

Hearing his friends run up to him, BurningGreymon flew forwards, snatching the Beast Spirit from the fractal code. That was the most trouble, "**Now for John's. Catch, buddy!**"

John nodded, reaching out for the spirit and smiling as he caught it, the cold seeping into his body as his D-Tector absorbed it, "This is better than anything I've ever gotten!"

"**Now for Chloe's**," BurningGreymon flew forwards, gasping in horror as the fractal code was absorbed by Grumblemon again, who immediately dug into the earth and disappeared.

"No!" she cried in horror before sobbing slightly. "My… my spirit… Kazemon…"

* * *

"Can't believe me have spirit taken! Me make kids pay and pay big time!" Grumblemon growled, hitting one of the pillars holding up the roof of the hideout as Aoife watched with a bored air.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"Huh?"

Rolling her eyes as Grumblemon seemed surprised by her question, Aoife glanced away. "How are you going to make them pay?"

"Well… um… Me not know yet!"

You honestly can't make the stuff Grumblemon said up,

Aoife thought as she walked into the shadows. No real need for her to intrude on his plan. She **had **been ordered not to confront the kids until they were in the Continent of Darkness, after all.

"Well me will!" Grumblemon called after her, whipping around as he heard a childish laugh, "Wonderful, the knucklehead of the group has **another **brilliant idea! Honey, you couldn't get those little rug rats' spirits if they were handed to you on a silver platter!"

"Who there?" Grumblemon called, fists clenched, "Aoife, that you again, or that Ranamon?"

"Do I look like that golden-headed little misfit?" the water-nymph scoffed, leaping up to the floor Grumblemon was on, her blue skin maximising the startling effect of her crimson eyes. "Now you need to stop sneaking around behind our backs to please Cherubimon! It's making us look bad!"

"You not tell Grumblemon what to do! Me do more than you!" he retaliated, pointing a thumb at himself. "What me do no business of you!"

"Thou art mistaken," came a misty voice as - what resembled - a large, green mirror with a mouth emerged from the shadows.

"Mercurymon of Steel!"

"Thou actions doth reflect badly upon us, Grumblemon," Mercurymon continued. "Thou should study an opponent first, not just foolishly blunder into battle."

"Got that right… wha'eveh he said," a wooden, Ent-like figure slid down from the above floor, landing just beside the warrior of earth, who smirked.

"Arbormon of Wood!"

"Enough formalities," Mercurymon snapped as Arbormon nodded - as best he could, in any case. "Our circle is complete."

"But Aoife of Darkness not here no more!" Grumblemon countered, glancing around, failing to notice the blonde observing them from the shadows roughly twenty metres away.

"Sugar, what makes you think she'd join **us**?" Ranamon giggled. "She's **far **to high up on that horse of hers to notice us."

_I'm the only one in the world that she doesn't care about, even if I don't notice her,_ Aoife realised, taking a small step backwards.

"For soth," Mercurymon smirked. "She hath no heart for battle and does little more than watch the moons from the shadows she doth crave."

"While we rule the world," Arbormon chuckled as Ranamon smirked.

"She'll only have what she sees when she closes her eyes!"

Aoife growled, slinking away as the four laughed and began devising a plan to defeat the seven warriors at the Forest Terminal the next day. As she walked outside, she smirked as she glanced at the moons. Mercurymon may have been right when he said she stared at them a lot, but what he didn't know was that they told her things.

Things like what he saw in his mirrors.

Things that could mean either the success or failure of taking over the digital world.

Things like there being nine warriors rather than seven.

* * *

"Come on, Jade," a voice growled slightly as a tall, blonde figure crept through the bushes surrounding them, his blue eyes fixed on his younger sister, Jade O'Doherty.

The boy wore a pair of navy jeans, a polo t-shirt that could have been mistaken as a school uniform - had it not the thin, grey stripes running across it - a white hoodie with a pair of white-and-black trainers and, finally, a pair of black, fingerless pilot gloves.

"Easy for you… to say, Josh," Jade panted, her shoulder-length hair falling into her pale face and unusual, lilac eyes as she leaned on her knees. "I'm… not used… to this…"

Jade O'Doherty was wearing a pair of red tracksuit pants with white stripes running down the sides, a pink t-shirt with a red print flower pattern spiralling across it, a pair of pink high tops and a pair of red, oval goggles with white stripes strapped to her head.

Josh O'Doherty groaned, shaking his head slightly, but he nonetheless led his sister towards a small boulder, his 'big-brother' instincts kicking in.

His one-year-younger sister had only spirit evolved that day to save a small digimon village and - while he had grown used to the process - she was exhausted after it.

After a few moments, he heard his sister's breathing deepen slightly as she dropped onto his shoulder and he sighed, pulling her onto his back. Every night for the past two weeks they had been in the digital world - as the woman speaking to them through their D-Tectors called it - it had been the same process.

She would beg for a rest, fall asleep, and he would carry her closer to the Forest Terminal. And they were now less than a days walk from their destination.

Speaking of that woman…

Josh pulled out his crystalline-and-white D-Tector along with his sister's onyx-and-pink one, glaring at the static screen. Same story, different day.

Nothing but static.

Sighing, he shoved them back into his small, swimming bag where his towel, swimsuit and another pair of goggles was residing.

"Oh, well," shifting his position so that Jade was in a more comfortable position, he began walking, ignoring the prickling feeling on the back of his neck - a typical sign that someone was watching them. But after three days of constant paranoia, the two learnt to ignore it. "May as well keep going."

As the large tree came into view, he sighed with relief, unknowing of the turmoil that lay ahead.

* * *

Dun, dun, DUN! CLIFFHANGER! Quick question; should I stick with the Celestial Angels, or do Cherubimon and two other digimon? Please let me know in your reviews!


	14. 13: Hold Me Safe, My Warrior Protector

Wow. This is officially my longest chapter **ever**! IT'S FOURTY FREAKING PAGES LONG!

I was already at twenty before ten minutes was up, but I thought it wouldn't have been longer than thirty three! Oh, well. Sorry for those of you who like short chapters. *shrug*

Well, I just want to say something. A girl at school, **Lauren**'s cousin just died in a car crash. She only just got the news last night and she's still really upset. So, I may not like her, but I'm asking anyone reading this to pray for her and her family, because no one deserves to go through that. Thanks.

And sorry for the bad title, but it's for a mix of reasons… I'll explain at the end!

Review time!

* * *

**LacrymosaRules: **Thanks, Lacry! ;) I didn't do what I thought I was gonna do, so don't worry about… **that** pairing… or at least there isn't much of it…

**Just Couldn't Be Bothered: **(Summary) Wow, you must really like those pairings, Harry! J I'm glad you like it!

(Chapter 12) I did another evolution of Patamon's, just not Salamon's cause it's not very… angel-y. And thanks! Hope you like this chapter!

* * *

**Frontier 02: The Legend of the Irish Warriors  
Chapter 13  
Hold Me Safe, My Warrior Protector**

* * *

"Hey, where do ya think ye's going? Mercurymon ain't done with ya yet!" Arbormon called as Grumblemon sprinted out of the purple building the warriors serving Cherubimon called a base.

"Me go to Forest Terminal!" Grumblemon panted, turning to glare at Arbormon. "Must get Beast Spirit back from annoying kids!"

Running down to meet Arbormon, Ranamon giggled childishly, clapping her hands in excitement, "Oooh! Sounds like fun!"

Moving more slowly than his companions, Mercurymon smirked as Arbormon came up behind him, "I tried to stop 'em, you saw that, right?"

"Yes, yes."

* * *

Aoife growled, watching the four forms retreat from the base, eyes narrowed as she clutched her device tightly in her hand, "One of these days, I'll get in on the action…"

* * *

"I… can't believe it!" Darren gasped as he stared at the large tree looming in front of the group of seven. "We made it!"

"My legs can believe it," Aaron groaned, but a wide smile was splitting his face as they walked towards the tree.

"There's the sign," John pointed out, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Forest Terminal!"

"But… shouldn't there be a Trailmon or something?" Lydia queried, frowning in confusion as Harry added his consent by nodding.

"Yeah, you'd think there'd be at least one here from all we've heard of it."

"Well… there's probably… one on its way now!" Darren suggested, glancing back at the two. "Or… you know… they c-could be… shoot…"

Glancing around, Aaron's eyes widened in happiness, hearing slightly raised voices before two, tall figures walked out of a dark building, "Who cares about them? There's a **restaurant **here!"

As they walked up to the building, the group could see a large, blue bird wielding a crown on its head with a large bush for a tail, "Welcome, weary travellers! What would you like to eat?"

"Depends on what you've got," Arlene murmured, blinking slightly.

"Ask instead what I **don't **have!" the bird grinned widely, unfolding its wings. "Step right up, friends! And don't worry about money; the first meal for you is free!"

Grinning giddily, Chloe, John, Aaron and the digimon ran into the building, followed more slowly by the remaining four warriors while the bird muttered something under his breath.

As they seated themselves at the bar-like table, the bird grinned and tossed nine eggs into the air, "Cream and egg spaghetti coming up!" Narrowing his eyes, the digimon stretched its neck out, cracking each egg with a swift movement directly over a plate. "Dig in!"

After staring at their plates for a moment, everyone grinned, thanked the digimon and reached for a fork, twirling the pasta around it.

However, a split second after putting the pasta in their mouths, everyone either spat it back into their dishes, or quickly forced themselves to swallow before hastily drowning the water that came with the meal.

"While still grateful, we must respectfully decline your offer of food," Bokomon muttered weakly, clutching his stomach, turning slightly green as he pushed the plate away from him.

"I can't feel my tongue anymore," Neemon complained, picking up the offending meal and throwing it over his shoulder and out of the door.

"Okay, what's the big idea?" the bird cried, a blood vein appearing on his forehead as he glared at the group. "I can't believe you're all going to turn down free food!"

"**That **was **food**?" Chloe gasped, grabbing another glass of water.

"I'm insulted!"

"Well, so are our stomachs!" Darren countered angrily as Lydia crossed her arms beside him.

"That tasted like last months' socks" Harry groaned.

"Oh, you've had it before?"

Taking a deep breath, Harry narrowed his eyes, "Someone cover John's ears for a minute." When Arlene had done so, he glared at the bird. "What the ****? Were you trying to ****ing poison us or something? Even a digimon couldn't take that ****, how are you supposed to expect us to? We're ****ing human!" By this stage, even John – who couldn't hear the brunette – was staring at him open mouthed. "You're **not **supposed to put blended socks into ****ing spaghetti, you *******!" Taking a few more deep breaths, Harry nodded to show he was done and Arlene removed her hands from John's ears.

"Fine, get outa here, kids. Go to the Forest Terminal," the bird smirked while glaring. "They say no one's ever returned from there!"

"We'll take our chances," Lydia growled. "It can't be any worse than this food!"

When everyone nodded in agreement, tears started forming in the bird's eyes, "Aw, common! I was just trying to be nice!"

"Being nice has nothing to do with cooking," Darren scowled, crossing his arms as he stood up. "And we don't care about the rumours. We need to go to the Forest Terminal, and that's that!"

As everyone else stood up to follow Darren, the bird growled, muttering 'you're just as mean as those other kids' under his breath, which didn't go unnoticed by John, who frowned in confusion. Other kids? But they were the only ones in the digital world, right?

* * *

Glaring at the swirling mass of fog in front of them, Lydia took a step forwards, "Let's go."

Arlene nodded, following her, "We've been waiting to get here for ages, we can't let a few rumours stop us now."

"Yeah."

"Alright."

"Come on."

"You don't think they're true, do you?" Aaron muttered, glancing warily over his shoulder as John shook his head firmly.

"We've come too far to turn back now!"

"Hey, wait up!"

* * *

"Here too?" Lydia exclaimed in annoyance, glancing around the empty platform. "It's a terminal, shouldn't there be at least **one **digimon? It's completely deserted!"

"No, really?" Chloe rolled her eyes, squinting to try and see past her hand. "This place seriously gives me the creeps."

"You and me both," Arlene agreed, shivering slightly before she pulled her coat tighter around her lithe frame. She couldn't understand how Chloe could stand the cold in just a t-shirt, but on a second glance, she realised her friend was shivering violently.

Pulling off the coat, she handed it to Chloe, who stared at it for a moment before grinning and pulling it on, "Merci beaucoup!"

Darren frowned, squinting, "Keep an eye out for anything unusual."

"How? The only thing we can see is this fog!" Aaron complained as Harry gripped his violin case tightly, finding comfort in the familiar handle.

"There has to be someone here!" Arlene was beginning to feel the after affects of not wearing her coat in the cold and sneezed.

"But what if they're all ghosts!" Aaron exclaimed as they began walking up a large flight of stairs. After that comment, Chloe and John whimpered uncertainly.

"Well, I guess we'll just keep walking!" Darren growled as Aaron muttered something under his breath in agreement.

Suddenly Darren gasped and halted, causing Lydia to crash into him and fall backwards.

Blushing, Darren extended a hand to help her up before glancing at the road again; there was a fork, "Typical. Well, which way now?"

Hearing his D-Tector beeping, John pulled it out, staring at the screen. The small map was up again and it was pointing them to the right, "It's that way!"

After they began walking up the steeper and narrower set of stairs John's D-Tector had pointed them to, Darren gasped again, stopping – but not before making sure Lydia wasn't directly behind him, "John, it's a dead end!"

"Are you sure it wasn't the other way?" Chloe queried as Aaron's D-Tector began beeping as well.

Pulling it out, the warrior of Thunder directed it at the trees as it began glowing. A beam of yellow light shot towards them, forcing them to bend out of the way, much to everyone's delight.

After walking a few steps, Darren groaned. The fog had just thickened. "Jesus, I can't see two steps in front of me!"

"I know," Lydia agreed, scowling. "I can barely even see **you**! We could be attacked and we wouldn't even see them coming!"

Pulling out her D-Tector, Chloe stared at it as it began glowing a dull pink, "Maybe **my **D-Tector can do something!"

All of a sudden, the pink light grew brighter and engulfed the whole device before the fog dimmed away to nothing, making the turrets of either a very lavish building or a castle plainly visible.

Staring at them, Chloe went pale, "I… I hate it when I'm right…"

"Hey, cheer up, Chloe!" Arlene grinned. "It could be worse. Maybe whoever's in there is actually on our side!"

* * *

"This place is amazing!" John gawked as they reached the top of the staircase and the crystal castle became fully visible… except for parts that were blocked by the large gate.

"Doesn't mean it's not dangerous," Lydia growled, glaring at the gate as it remained stubbornly shut.

"Maybe it's where whoever talked to us through our D-Tectors lives," Harry suggested, looking at the gate from different angles to see if there was a weak spot they could get through. "We did get a message to come here."

"I still don't think it's safe," Lydia growled before her D-Tector began beeping.

Pulling it out, she gasped as a white ball of light shot at the gate, which opened immediately afterwards.

"At least they're polite… I guess," Darren muttered, walking forward before crashing into something invisible and flying back into Lydia, who caught him. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

Frowning, Arlene walked up to where Darren had crashed and put her hand out, jumping back as it connected with something solid, "It's a force-field!"

Frowning, she and Harry pulled out their D-Tectors, watching as a ball of brown and purple matter shot at the object of their shock, causing it to dissolve.

"They're very eager to get us in there," Lydia narrowed her eyes as they walked up to the door.

"I say we go in. How bad could it be; Sleeping Beauty lived in a castle in the forest," Chloe grinned widely while Lydia narrowed her eyes even further.

"I don't think she was called 'Sleeping' Beauty because she overslept a lot," Lydia growled. "The Wicked Witch did too, genius!"

"Well, we'll never find out if we don't go in!" John said bravely, taking a step closer to the door.

"Says the kid at the back of the line," Aaron sweat dropped as he realised John was even behind the digimon.

Grabbing the doorknocker, Darren rapped on the door sharply three times, only to receive no response.

"Maybe whoever lives here is out?" John suggested, glancing back over his shoulder as the sounds of voices at a distance came to his ears.

"Maybe you should start a business, John! Collins' Wishful Thinking Shop!" Darren joked before pulling out his own D-Tector, "Come on! **Do **something!"

As if on cue, his D-Tector emitted a high-pitched shriek – causing everyone to cover their ears – and the doors were thrown open.

As the shriek was cut off, Darren looked up and gasped, backing away when he saw a staff pointed directly at him, "Get **back**, Cherubimon scum!"

Eyes widening, Darren stared at the Wizardmon-lookalike, noting that only the colouring was different, "I-isn't that Wizardmon?"

"Impossible!" Bokomon retorted. "Wizardmon was purified."

"And this guy's a different colour!" John gasped.

"And meaner!" Aaron added.

Lydia grabbed her D-Tector, ready to spirit evolve if necessary.

"We can take him," Darren clenched his fists, eyes narrowed, noting that the digimon was only as high as his shoulder, hat included. "He can't be any tougher than Gigasmon!"

"Gigasmon?" the digimon seemed confused, but he kept a tight hold of his staff. "But he's one of Cherubimon's goons! Are you telling me you defeated him?"

"Yeah!" Harry confirmed, eyes narrowed.

"So… you're **not **in cahoots with him…"

"You've got to be kidding!" Chloe exclaimed as Lydia stalked up to the digimon.

"How about you put that away before you hurt someone. It's pretty obvious we're all on the same side!"

"This is what comes of fighting too much," the digimon sighed, lowering his staff. "Everyone seems like an enemy. I apologise, friends. How did you find this place?"

"We were sent a message that told us to come to the Forest Terminal, but no one was there," Arlene explained, nodding in thanks to Chloe as the warrior of Wind handed her back her coat. "So we kept walking and ended up here.

"A message, hm?" the digimon blinked. "Could it be? War has driven common courtesy from me; I apologise. I am Sorcermon. Could you be the seven humans that Ophanimon sent for?" When everyone nodded, he frowned. "But there are two of you missing."

After glancing around in a panicky manner, Darren frowned, "No, there's not. Everyone's here."

"No," Sorcermon frowned before smiling, turning his gaze towards the gate. "Here they come!"

"I **told **you it was this way, Josh!" came a distinctly female voice as everyone whipped around to face the newcomers.

Jaws dropped as they stared at one another, shock and distrust evident in everyone's eyes.

Lydia and the girl were in a small glaring match while the others just contented themselves in not breaking eye contact with the boy.

Until Sorcermon cleared his throat, drawing all attention back to him, "Come inside, all of you. I have something to show you."

"Wait, who are you guys?" the girl growled, eyes narrowed.

"Inside," Sorcermon insisted, glancing around worriedly. "It's not safe outside since you broke through our defences."

After another moment of glaring, the two groups nodded and followed Sorcermon inside, jumping slightly as the doors closed with a loud 'clang'.

* * *

"What did I do wrong?" Deramon wailed, staring in dismay at the bowl of spaghetti in front of him. "The recipe was clear; cream, egg, ham and pasta boiled in blended socks! I guess I'll just have to find out for myself." Just as he was about to take a bite, he glanced up, seeing four figures emerging from the fog. "Welcome, valued customers! Your first meal is free!"

Gasping, he backed away a few paces as the four warriors came into view, "Oh, it's you! How c-c-can I be of a-assistance?"

"We're looking for a couple of little brats, sugar," Ranamon winked, smiling. "Can you tell us where they went?"

Deramon nodded dumbly, jaw hitting the floor, "O-of course. They… um… ahem, they went to the Forest Terminal."

Mercurymon smirked, "The Forest Terminal? They doth think we are imbeciles? This will be over faster than I had first assumed."

When the four began to walk out of his restaurant, Deramon grabbed a bowl of spaghetti, "Don't you want food?"

"I'll take it," Arbormon grabbed the bowl, downing it in one mouthful before handing the empty dish back to Deramon. "Good, but you migh' wanna boil the pasta a bit more in those socks, right?"

Deramon nodded happily as the four exited his shop, "I **knew** I was a good cook!"

* * *

"Where are we going?" Lydia growled, edging further away from the two newcomers and closer to Darren unconsciously, who blushed.

"To meet someone," Sorcermon explained, continuing to lead them down the crystal hallway.

"Sounds like a trap."

"You think everything sounds like a trap!" John pointed out, earning a glare from Lydia and several grins or chuckles of amusement from almost everyone else.

"Caution is wise, my friend, but only within reason. This is no trap. **This **is a prophecy," Sorcermon growled, halting in front of a large, reflecting wall. "Before we continue, I think it would be wise for everyone to introduce themselves."

Darren nodded, pulling out his D-Tector and showing it to the newcomers, "I'm Darren Hughes, the warrior of Fire."

"John Collins, the warrior of Ice!"

"I'm Chloe Sheehan, and I'm the warrior of Wind."

"My name's Aaron Kennedy with the spirit of Thunder."

"I'm Harry O'Connor, and I'm the warrior (John coughed the word 'Prince') of Harmony."

"I'm Arlene McCarthy, the warrior-"

"Princess," Darren cut in, grinning.

"The **warrior** of Friendship."

When everyone but Lydia had spoken, Darren glanced at her, seeing her frowning at the newcomers. Nudging her, he jumped slightly as she let out a small squeak before glaring at him. She couldn't be ticklish… could she?

"Lydia O'Dwyer. Light," she growled, keeping her arms tightly by her sides, confirming Darren's suspicion.

"Well, nice to meet you, I guess," the boy rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "My name's Joshua O'Doherty, but you can call me Josh, and I have the spirit of Life. And this is my sister-"

"Jade O'Doherty," the girl growled. "Death."

Eyes widened in surprise, Bokomon and Neemon included. The digimon had all assumed that there were only twelve warriors, now all of their history books were being proven wrong.

Sorcermon – unsurprised – nodded and turned back towards the wall, pointing his staff at it and causing it to open into another room.

* * *

"Tracks fresh," Grumblemon announced, placing his large foot over the much smaller footprints of one of the warriors in their human form. "Only little further."

* * *

"Up there," Sorcermon directed, pointing towards a large gem in the left corner of the room as everyone stared at it. "Allow me to introduce our salvation; Dominimon."

"Are… we supposed to know who he is?" Chloe queried, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Dominimon was one of the three Celestial digimon chosen to rule this world," Sorcermon explained, staring at the gem.

"And what exactly are we supposed to do?" Darren queried, clenching his fists. "He's frozen solid!"

"Never noticed **that**," Jade muttered, receiving a glare from Lydia.

"Maybe not," Sorcermon obviously hadn't heard her comment. "There's a prophecy-"

Let your light shine as one!

Sorcermon gasped in shock, glancing around, "That was Lady Ophanimon! She's the one who asked me to watch over Dominimon!"

"Ophanimon?" Josh frowned, pulling out his D-Tector. "She must be the one who told us to come here!"

"Everything is falling into place," Sorcermon muttered. "I've brought you here because the prophecy says that one day a group of wayward human warriors will free Dominimon."

_Typical, _Bokomon sighed, crossing his arms and pouting at the floor. _Humans get to do everything! When will it be my turn?_

* * *

"Just little further," Grumblemon announced, leading the group through the fog as Ranamon pouted angrily.

"So you keep saying, sugar, but I ain't seeing anything other than this stupid fog!"

Unknown to them, another figure was following through the fog, smirking at their 'subtleness'.

Shaking her head, Aoife held back a laugh as Mercurymon reprimanded the two for fighting. This was too easy.

**~Remember, Aoife~** Cherubimon growled, making her turn around to see a miniature, shadow form of him on her shoulder. **~Do nothing other than observe. Find out who has what spirits, but don't intervene, no matter what happens. Understood~**

Aoife nodded, sighing as he disappeared. When would she get in on the action? Shrugging, she continued to follow her 'comrades'. It may not be the best, but it was a whole lot better than not seeing anything.

* * *

"What did she mean?" Lydia growled, eyes narrowed at the ground.

"Well, you're the warrior of Light," Josh pointed out. "Could it have anything to do with you?"

"I doubt it," Harry shook his head before Lydia could glare at the warrior of Life. "We're hardly going to be able to shine her on Dominimon."

"It's probably something to do with our D-Tectors," Chloe said, glancing at the aforementioned device.

When everyone had taken out their D-Tectors, however, the screens remained blank. Sighing, Arlene shook her head before glancing up as Lydia and Harry got into another argument.

"We have to stay! This is what we came for!"

"I'm telling you, something's coming! Everyone could be in danger!"

"You always think everyone could be in danger!"

"That's because they could be!"

"Alright, that's **it**!" Arlene growled, stalking up to the two and standing in between them. "Can't you two even **try** to get along?"

When neither answered, Arlene sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Look, we're all friends here, we don't need stupid arguments forcing us apart, alright?"

"Arlene…!" Harry gasped, eyes widening.

Blushing slightly, Arlene glanced at him, "What?"

"You're… glowing!" Lydia's jaw dropped as she stared at the Princess, who was indeed glowing a pale purple.

Jade frowned for a moment before grinning excitedly, "I get it now! We're **all **the light! We need to shine the light in ourselves on Dominimon!"

When everyone except her brother and Sorcermon stared at her, she ducked her head, blushing slightly.

After a moment – when Arlene had become brighter – Darren shrugged, "May as well give it a shot!"

Concentrating, Darren could feel fire burning inside of him, but he couldn't reach it, couldn't pull it towards him.

**_~You're concentrating too much~ _**a voice he recognised as BurningGreymon growled in the back of his mind. **_~Try holding hands with the wielder of Friendship over there. She's already got her power flowing, it might encourage yours.~_**

* * *

Blushing, Darren nodded and moved towards Arlene as inside his head, Agunimon smirked at BurningGreymon, ~_You sneaky little-~_

**_~Well, it's more than you've done!~ _**BurningGreymon growled, smirking slightly.

* * *

Shaking his head, Darren took Arlene's hand, blushing furiously as she pulled it away in shock.

"What the hell?!"

"I thought that since you're already glowing it might… help?" Darren stuttered, blushing even darker.

After staring at him for a moment, Arlene nodded and gave him her hand, holding out her other hand for someone else.

When both Darren and Harry were holding her hand, they closed their eyes and bit back a gasp, already feeling the energy filling them.

For Darren, it was a burning sensation, hotter than he'd ever felt in his life, making him want to yell. Surprisingly, though, the heat didn't hurt him. Only energised him. A moment later, he began glowing a fire red.

For Harry, it was more an overwhelming sense of peace that usually made him want to scream in exasperation; he wasn't one for 'so quiet you could hear a pin drop' moments. This time, however, he embraced it, feeling the energy filling him like water as he began glowing a calming, sea blue.

Both boys held out their hands for someone else to take and soon, it was a complete circle.

Lydia had managed to take Darren's hand, and almost yelled in shock as she felt the energy fill her. It was like someone was poking red hot – followed by ice cold – pins through her body. After a moment though, it subsided and she began glowing pure white.

Aaron was next; for him, little jolts of electricity ran through his body, making goose bumps appear wherever they hit, be it his arm or the back of his neck. After he embraced it, he began to glow an electric yellow.

Jade was next in line, Aaron being the only of her new teammates that she didn't mind. A cold, distraught feeling filled her, followed by joy. This was her way of explaining why death was as neutral as light or darkness; death may bring pain and suffering, but it also brought joy of new life and good memories. Death brought people closer together. Embracing it, she began glowing – or maybe glowing wasn't the right word – a light-absorbing, black.

Josh was the exact opposite of his sister; he was filled with a feeling of joy followed by distraught. While life could bring joy and hope, it could also bring a sense of dread and despair with it. After it had completely filled him, he began glowing as pure a white colour as Lydia, which almost cancelled out his sister's darkness.

Next in line was Chloe – who blushed slightly when she took Josh's hand. She felt like a storm was building up inside of her – wind buffeting her everywhere. However, she let it continue and began glowing a pastel pink a few moments later.

Finally, it was John – who was also holding Harry's hand. Ice froze his insides, making it impossible for him to even shiver. He had never been so cold in his entire life! After taking a deep breath, he let the freezing continue and he began glowing cerulean.

Re-direct the light to Dominimon

Ophanimon instructed as Arlene and Harry – as if in a trance – released one another's hands and pointed them at the frozen Dominimon. A stream of colours began flowing from their hand to the gem as everyone else began either breathing heavier or gasping for breath.

A minute later, the gem disappeared and a blue and gold figure floated down from the ceiling.

"The prophecy!" Sorcermon gasped, eyes wide as everyone released hands and the Royals lowered theirs. "Welcome back, Lord Dominimon!"

"It's good to be back, my faithful servant," the figure – Dominimon – announced as the warriors stared at his back. "You have done well."

* * *

"**Little **bit further," Grumblemon assured as Ranamon glared at him and they reached a fork in the stairs.

"Will you stop that?" Mercurymon growled, moving to the right, where they could see a small arch of trees.

* * *

"Sorcermon, tell me," Dominimon sighed, still keeping his back to the warriors. The only thing they could see were his eight, feathery wings, the back of his blue-and-gold armour and his blonde hair which was sticking up. "There's so little I remember."

"My Lord, when you were defeated, Ophanimon managed to get you to safety," Sorcermon explained, an impassive expression on his face. "She sealed you away in a safe place so you could be revived… **after **the trouble had passed."

"Ophanimon!" Dominimon gasped. "Is she alright? Has she been harmed? Why isn't she here?"

"Truth is often unpleasant, I'm afraid," Sorcermon lowered his head, ashamed. "No one knows where she is. But these humans have been in contact with her, so all is not lost."

"These humans?" Dominimon finally turned around to face them. "But… they're only children!"

A blue helmet covered most of his face and a gold cross was where his eyes should have been. Long, matching, shoulder pads reached his wrists, and there was a small slot in each of them, probably where a sword was to be produced from. He wore white, baggy trousers which were tucked into a pair of skin-tight, blue boots and a gold belt surrounded his waist. His breastplate was silver with streaks of gold and two of the longer strands of his blonde hair hung around his neck.

"Yes, but they're also legendary warriors, and if not for them, you'd still be stuck to the ceiling!" Bokomon cried angrily before remembering that he was talking to one of the most powerful digimon in the digital world.

"Legendary warriors? Impressive," Dominimon seemed shocked, but he glanced at Lydia, Chloe and Jade, "Yes, I can sense the powers of Light, Wind and Death from you three… Tell me, warrior of Light, how did you come to be so?" When Lydia raised an eyebrow in confusion, he explained, "Light was supposed to be male."

Lydia's jaw dropped in shock as she shook her head, indicating that she didn't know the answer.

Eager to draw the attention away from his obviously-uncomfortable crush- I mean friend, Darren clenched his fists, "Listen, what is going on? We've been lead all over getting our asses handed to us on a silver platter and we don't even know why we were brought here in the first place!"

"Yeah, someone owes us some answers!" Chloe added, indicating to her friends.

"And I have a feeling you're that someone!" Harry pressed, frowning slightly as Lydia remained quiet. The comment about the spirits of Light being destined to be male had obviously shocked her for some reason.

"So tell us what's going on!" Josh demanded, eyes narrowed as Dominimon glanced at John.

"Um… please?"

"Very well, brave ones," Dominimon sighed. "I shall tell you."

* * *

"No little further," Grumblemon smirked. "We here now!"

"What a delightful place to destroy those kiddies," Ranamon gushed excitedly as Arbormon nodded.

"They won't know what hit 'em, right Mercurymon?"

"They shall know pain," Mercurymon smirked. "In sooth, that I can promise."

As the four chuckled and moved towards the castle, Aoife felt a sudden wave of anger crash over her before evaporating. _The hell? _She frowned, following them. _Why do I fell angry at the other warriors for trying to hurt them? You'd think I wasn't a digimon…_

* * *

"If you want answers, you will have them," Dominimon assured. "The story begins long ago when Human digimon and Beast digimon were at war against one another. Their battle laid waste to the digital world, befouling what was once beautiful. But then Lucemon appeared and brought an end to the fighting. For eons, he ruled in peace, but then he was corrupted by his own power."

"My, this story sounds familiar," Bokomon interrupted, pointing at his book proudly, but everyone except Lydia, Josh and Jade glared at him.

"Bokomon!"

"What?" he pouted as Dominimon glanced at him before continuing.

"The twelve legendary warriors of Water, Wind, Fire, Metal, Wood, Thunder, Ground, Ice, Life, Death, Light and Darkness rose up to free the oppressed digimon along with their rulers of Harmony and Friendship. They battled valiantly, and after a fierce struggle, they were able to defeat the tyrannical Lucemon. After peace was restored to the digital world, champions were chosen to protect that peace by the Prince and Princess; Cherubimon…Ophanimon…and myself. But, like before, it was short-lived.

"Cherubimon wanted to control the digital world by himself and so attacked me. You know the rest of the story thanks to Sorcermon," Dominimon finished, nodding towards the wizard digimon. "Ophanimon brought me here to rest and recover where I have slumbered until I was awoken by you wielders of the legendary spirits."

"Luckily you came just when we needed Dominimon the most," Sorcermon nodded gratefully. "The digital world is in a crisis, as you can see."

Holding out his staff, he made a hologram of the digital world appear, which in turn made everyone gasp. Holes were everywhere, not just on land, but even at sea. Dark nothingness was in place of where the land should have been and more seemed to be disappearing.

"Jesus," Darren gasped in horror. "The digital world looks worse than my sister's room!"

"And the future is even bleaker," Sorcermon sighed. "You see, Cherubimon has sent his minions to **destroy **it."

"This is even more serious than I realised," Dominimon growled. "We must find Ophanimon at once!"

"Yes, my Lord," Sorcermon nodded in numb agreement. "Your combined power should be able to defeat Cherubimon. And of course, you'll have my help too. While you've slept, I've felt that I have too! And I have dreamt **only **of fighting by your side against that evil creature."

Both Harry and Arlene frowned, glancing at one another. It didn't sound like Sorcermon really believed what he was saying. In fact, quite the opposite. And glancing at Dominimon, they realised why.

Sorcermon was his servant, and he was bound to serve him for his entire life. He had a mind of his own – Dominimon wasn't cruel, he didn't deprive him of that – but Sorcermon preferred to immediately agree with the Celestial digimon rather than argue.

"Dear, brave Sorcermon," Dominimon smiled. "You are a true friend. Thank you; your courage gives me strength."

"I am as you taught me," Sorcermon sighed, ducking his head.

Ignoring – or not noticing – the impassive tone the wizard had used, Dominimon turned to face the warriors, "And I must thank you for **your **courage. All would have been lost if not for you." As everyone grinned proudly – especially Lydia – Dominimon frowned seriously. "But I must ask that you do one more favour for me; before the fighting begins, go back to your own world." Dominimon sighed as gasps of shock, disbelief and outrage reached his ears. "Your task is done and it is too dangerous for you to stay."

"But we're legendary warriors!" Darren protested angrily as everyone nodded in agreement.

"If you think we're just going to walk away now," Lydia growled, hands balling into fists. "You've got another thing coming!"

There would have been more arguments, had the hidden wall not been smashed.

Whipping around, everyone grabbed their D-Tectors tightly as Chloe gasped and backed away a few steps.

"Good!" Grumblemon smirked as he – followed by four others – walked into the room. "Whole brat brigade here!"

"And ready to take you down," Darren growled, taking a step forwards. "In case you haven't noticed, we have two knew warriors on our side!"

"You better be ready," Grumblemon smirked again. "Cause me have backup too! Ranamon-"

"Charmed, I'm sure!" the nymph smiled innocently as Jade scoffed.

"And I'm not so sure."

"Arbormon-" Grumblemon continued.

"Yer in for it now, right?" the Ent frowned in a confused matter as John forced back a laugh.

"And Mercurymon!"

"So these be the whelps that hath given thee so much turmoil? Pathetic!" the green mirror scoffed as Grumblemon blushed. "Well, they tougher than look!"

"In sooth?" Mercurymon smirked. "Twill be utter delight to defeat thee and to hand Dominimon another grubbing in Cherubimon's name!"

"With so many options, I don't know where to start," Ranamon sighed deviously.

"Enough of your meaningless taunts!" Dominimon thundered. "Tell me where Ophanimon is, **now**!"

"Me no care about her!" Grumblemon yelled at him. "Me just want Beast Spirit back! So give it!"

"Why don't you just come get it, buddy?" Darren taunted, whipping out his D-Tector as everyone except Chloe – who moved behind Sorcermon so she wouldn't be in the way – stepped up to form a line.

"EXECUTE! Spirit Evolution!"  
"Agunimon!"  
"Lobomon!"  
"Flasinamon!"  
"Kumamon!"  
"Beetlemon!"  
"Secociamon!"

"EXECUTE!" Josh cried, slamming his hand into his D-Tector. "Spirit Evolution!"

He stood on two legs as his body became coated with crystalline armour, signs-of-the-cross dotting it everywhere. His tail was long and pink and his nose became a long, pointed snout. The symbol of life appeared on his wrist as his eyes turned red-and-grey as they narrowed and his hands were covered with red gloves which could seemingly produce a blade, not unlike one from 'Assassin's Creed' as he called his name, "Raifuenmon!"

"EXECUTE!" Jade yelled, allowing her hand to brush her D-Tector. "Spirit Evolution!"

Black strips of cloth wound their way around her body like poorly wrapped bandages, tightening around her left ankle and right elbow as well as her left shoulder and right knee. A rose helmet covered her head as her hair shortened to ear level and turned silver. A cross was also etched on her breastplate, along with the symbol of death on her silver, Roman sandals. Finally, her eyes – the only part of her face still visible – turned rose, black, vampire wings sprouted from her back and she called out her name, "Mirtyumon!"

"The Legendary Warriors have returned," Sorcermon gaped in awe as Chloe took another step back.

"If that rocky lunkhead hadn't stolen my spirit, he'd be long gone by now!"

"Yeah, well did and now I show you who be long gone!" Grumblemon countered angrily as Agunimon's fists became covered in flame and the usual bird appeared in front of Secociamon.

"You sure you don't want to get warmed up first? **Pyro Darts**!"

"**Celestial Pyro Protector**!"

"Ooh, they're **feisty**," Ranamon grinned as she back flipped out of the way of the oncoming flames.

"**Howling Laser**!"

"You might as well shoot the floor, sugar," she smirked as she back flipped out of the way again before shrieking as Raifuenmon leapt at her, hidden blade extended.

"**Life Ender**!"

"That is no way to treat a lady!" she shrieked in outrage as Lobomon tried to sneak up behind her.

"You're a lady?" Raifuenmon growled in amusement. "I couldn't tell!"

"Oh, that is it! You are dead, sugar!" Ranamon growled, leaping at the warrior of Life.

"**Thunder Fist**!" Beetlemon yelled, attempting to pummel Arbormon with his electrified fists.

When the Ent dodged, Flasinamon flew up behind him, "**Celestial Meteor Surge**!"

"**Crystal Freeze**!" Kumamon blew freezing cold air at Grumblemon, who dodged again.

"**Tombstone Slammer!**" Mirtyumon yelled, hurling a tombstone-shaped mass of dark energy at Mercurymon, who simply absorbed it with one of his mirrors.

"Thanks for the overwhelmingly underwhelming lesson in combat," Ranamon smirked. "But let me show you how it's done! **Draining Rain!**"

Only Lobomon and the Royals had the sense to dodge, but instead, Lobomon shoved Agunimon out of the way before falling to her knees, the water doing exactly as the name had suggested.

"**Roundhouse Punt**!" Arbormon yelled, aiming for Flasinamon, but this time, Agunimon took the hit and was sent flying into the far wall with Lobomon and Secociamon.

Grumblemon didn't use a specific attack, but he hit out at the remaining warriors with his hammer, sending them into the wall with their allies.

"That was almost too easy!" Ranamon giggled, glancing at Grumblemon. "And you're telling me you had trouble with these twerps?"

When Grumblemon growled, she giggled again, "Alright, go get your Beast Spirit, rock head! Fetch!"

"Be careful or you be smashed next, Ranamon," Grumblemon growled, raising his hammer.

"Grumblemon!" Sorcermon called. "You cannot do this! You and Agunimon once fought as allies!"

"I beg your pardon?" Mercurymon snarled, turning to the wizard digimon as Grumblemon paused.

"You cannot go further down the path of ruin!" Sorcermon snarled, equally fiercely. "I have waited a lifetime to see peace restored, and you're not going to stop it from returning! **Crystal Barrage!**"

"Thou art a fool!" Mercurymon smirked, raising his mirror and absorbing the flurry of crystals sent his way. "**Dark Reflection**!"

Sorcermon screamed in pain and shock as a flurry of almost identical crystals hit him, destroying his staff.

Rushing up to him, Dominimon caught him before the wizard could fall, "Sorcermon!"

"Worry not… my Lord…" Sorcermon breathed as Dominimon picked him up.

Deciding he had waited long enough, Grumblemon brought his hammer down towards Agunimon – who braced himself for impact – only to hit… Lobomon.

As the warrior of Light de-digivolved, falling o the ground directly in front of Grumblemon, Dominimon growled and flew with amazing speed towards them, standing between the warriors and Lydia, "That's enough!"

As Agunimon picked up Lydia – who groaned and clasped her stomach, flinching – bridal style, Dominimon stood up to his full height and glared at the four evil warriors, "**Final Excalibur!**"

Seven green daggers shot out from the slot in his armour directly at the warriors, but Mercurymon leapt forward, raising his mirror, absorbing the attack.

"Please," Dominimon pleaded. "I ask again that you leave and return to your world now!"

"Now way!" Mirtyumon grunted, forcing herself to her knees.

"Yeah," Kumamon nodded in agreement. "We're legendary warriors!"

"Destined to save this world," Flasinamon growled.

"And even if we wanted to leave, we don't know how," Beetlemon pointed out as Mercurymon stepped forwards.

"I can't fight them **and **keep you safe!" Dominimon growled. "You must **go**!"

"I don't need babysitting," Raifuenmon growled, standing up shakily before moving to help his sister. "You fight them, I'll keep myself safe!"

Agunimon nodded in agreement, "You can't fight all of them by yourself, buddy!"

"You need help!" Secociamon put in as Dominimon turned to Lobomon, who hadn't said anything.

Narrowing her eyes, she crossed her arms, "I'm not going anywhere as long as this world and the digimon need me!"

"This foolish compassion be thy weakness," Mercurymon taunted. "Attack the humans and keep him distracted."

"Fine by me," Grumblemon agreed, readying his hammer. "I attack them good!" Glancing at Chloe - who backed away again – he raised his hammer.

"**Draining Rain**!"

"**Roundhouse Punt!**"

"**Final-**" Mercurymon suddenly teleported himself so that he was in front of Dominimon, but the Celestial angel was too far into his attack to stop. "**Excalibur**!"

"**Dark Reflection**!" Mercurymon absorbed the attack before sending it right back to him.

As the attack hit, Dominimon shrieked in pain and fell backwards, causing everyone to gasp in shock and horror.

"To the victor go the spoils," Mercurymon smirked as Dominimon's fractal code appeared before absorbing it with one mirror.

"No…" Sorcermon's eyes were wide in horror as his master faded away to a digi-egg.

"Dominimon… he's gone!" Flasinamon cried as Chloe rushed forward.

"How ironic," Mercurymon smirked as even the evil legendary warriors' jaws dropped in shock. "Dominimon sought to defeat Cherubimon, but now his fractal code shall be used to meet our ends."

"No…" Sorcermon murmured, falling to his knees. "It… it can't be. The hope of the digital world is gone…"

"No he's not!" Chloe stated firmly, grabbing his digi-egg before sprinting back to her friends as Lydia groaned and blinked open her eyes before shuddering and gritting her teeth in pain, her years of running on the track team paying off. "Maybe we can bring him back… we have his egg, right Sorcermon?"

"Yes!" Sorcermon gasped. "We… must protect that egg at all costs!"

"Oh, thou shall not get far," Mercurymon promised, walking towards the group as Chloe skidded to a halt.

"If we can get the egg to Ophanimon, she may be able to revive Dominimon!" Sorcermon continued.

"Alright, come get it!" Beetlemon yelled, standing protectively in front of Agunimon, Chloe and Lydia – who still winced whenever she moved, but was attempting to convince Darren she was fine with a flushed face.

"Be not stupid," Mercurymon growled as he halted and the other three came up behind him.

"Why're you stopping?" Secociamon growled, desperate to buy Lydia enough time so that she might be able to spirit evolve again. "You're not chicken, are you?"

"Yeah, you tin head!" Mirtyumon taunted as Mercurymon chuckled and Kumamon bared his teeth, revealing long, pointed fangs for the first time.

"Very well. Thy fate is set in stone," taking a step forward, Mercurymon scowled. "We shall take it by unpleasant, painful, agonising force!"

Pressing a spot on the wall behind him, Sorcermon smirked as it shattered, revealing blinding light to the evil warriors, who shielded their eyes, "Arrogance will be your downfall!"

When the light cleared, Arbormon groaned, seeing a door close, "Aw! They got away, right?"

Muttering curses under his breath, Mercurymon watched his allies run for the door before fading away into nothingness.

* * *

"Hurry! This way!" Sorcermon called as the warriors – now in human form, except for Agunimon, who still wouldn't set Lydia down – ran through the tunnel.

Suddenly, a rock hit Agunimon on the back of the head, causing him to stumble, drop Lydia and de-digivolve cursing.

Picking herself up, Lydia grabbed his wrist and pulled him after the others as they struggled to catch up, ignoring the searing pain in her side as she glanced over her shoulder to see the outlines of Ranamon, Arbormon and Grumblemon running after them.

"You can escape through here," Sorcermon panted, slamming his hand into another button on the wall, watching as the wall rose to reveal an underwater railway line with a ready-and-waiting Trailmon.

"Whoa, getaway Trailmon!" Aaron gasped, jumping into the back followed by everyone except Lydia and Darren – who grabbed the sides – and Sorcermon.

"Thank God," Darren muttered before glancing back at Sorcermon. "Come on, Sorcermon!"

"I'm not coming," Sorcermon sighed. "This is your journey and I am sworn to protect this castle. If I go with you, it will fall, and this wall cannot be closed from the outside."

"WHAT?!"

"Just keep the egg safe," Sorcermon growled, hitting the button again as the three evil warriors ran towards him. "Now go!"

"YOU DON'T STAND A CHANCE!" Darren yelled as the wall closed. "SORCERMON!"

"No!" Chloe cried, about to jump out of the Trailmon, and she probably would have done so, had Jade, Aaron and Josh not grabbed her. "We won't leave you!"

At that moment, the Trailmon began moving and tears slowly seeped out of Chloe's eyes as she stared at the egg, "So many digimon are risking their lives for us…

"That egg might be the most important thing in the digital world right now," Darren growled, clinging tightly to the pipes running along the edge of the Trailmon.

"That means all of Cherubimon's forces are going to be after it," Lydia muttered, wincing slightly as Harry nodded inside the Trailmon, a blue aura surrounding him, fading before anyone noticed..

"Then no matter what happens, we have to protect it."

"We can't let Sorcermon's sacrifice be in vain," Arlene clenched her fists, a light purple aura surrounding her, also fading before anyone noticed.

"I hate to say this," Jade muttered, staring at her D-Tector. "But we're on our own now."

Glancing at her, Aaron awkwardly put a comforting arm around her shoulders, "No, we're not. We're never alone, and neither are you."

When she glanced at him quizzically, John nodded, "We have one another!"

"And I don't know about you guys," Josh growled, narrowing his eyes as the wall faded from view. "But I'm not going anywhere until this world is safe!"

* * *

Wow! Talk about the responsibility of the world being on your shoulders! Find out what'll happen next on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!

* * *

The title was for both Lydia and Dominimon; Lydia because Agunimon was holding her cause she was hurt, and Dominimon because Chloe's holding his egg. I know it's cheesy but… ah, screw it. It's already done! Please review!


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